It's Not You Anymore
by tryanforever91
Summary: They say people change over time, be it for the better or worse. 'Troyella' isn't the same as it used to be, and Troy's getting tired. What happens when he notices Ryan's 'changed' too? Slash. TRYAN. Hints of Troyella.
1. A Girl, a Boy, and Ryan

hello all :)

here i am with yet another story!

okay, now i know i already have a story in progress (Broken), but i really wanted to put this one up. Broken isn't going to be that long anyways, 3-4 chaps max. this is going to be my next fully-fledged story. I'm also finding this story a lot easier to write. it's not exactly as happy as Sing With Me, but its not nearly as gloomy as Broken.

aaanyways, im getting off topic. im exploring more new terrain with story, because it will also have some Troyella parts, which should be interesting. i also plan to include sex scenes... ive been inspired by BitterGrin's _By Moonlight_ (READ IT, IT'S **GOOD**!), so look out for those. i wannt do a lot of experimenting with Troy's relationships with different people in this story, mainly Ryan and Gabriella, so be prepared for a lot of new stuff. i also think this story will be even longer than Sing With Me.

so ummm, i dont know what else to say. i mightve already said too much, its such a bad habit. XP This story also draws some inspiration from the movie Hairspray, but its very subtle.

enough babbling from me, i'll get the disclaimer underway and let you read!

**Disclaimer:** I think it's pretty obvious i don't own HSM, or any of its characters. Please also note, this is a slash fic, which means boy on boy stuff. Parts are also boy girl, but this story's main focus will be Tryan, and not Troyella.

OKAY IM DONE! you can read now :)

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**It's Not You Anymore  
**A Romance Story by tryanforever91

_**Chapter One**__**: A Girl, a Boy, and Ryan**_

Sitting slumped in his desk, Troy Bolton was playing with his pencil absently. His gaze strayed from the blackboard, covered with complex algebraic formulas, and wandered over his many classmates. Most of them were hunched over their homework, writing furiously, including the girl Troy was staring at.

"Gabriella!" Troy whispered, but she apparently didn't hear him. She was intently focused on scrawling out her math homework. Troy tried getting her attention again, in vain.

He chanced a glance at the teacher, who was busy marking the last test. Troy nabbed this chance to crumple up his blank piece of paper and toss it in Gabriella's direction. It hit its target on the dot, and she looked up in surprise. Her eyes met up with Troy's and a small smile stretched across her face.

"What?" She mouthed. Troy shrugged his shoulders. Gabriella let out a small laugh and shook her head. Troy was slacking off yet again. "Get back to work!" She whispered. Troy tilted his head and rolled his eyes. Yeah, fat chance Troy was going to do his homework. Gabriella sighed and reverted her attention back to her homework. Troy hissed her name again, and she looked up.

"What?" She said again.

"Meet me after class." Troy whispered. Gabriella nodded and lowered her head once more. Troy leaned back into his seat, folding his arms behind his head, and stared at the clock. He started humming Lucas Grabeel's_ You__ Got It_, which had been stuck in his head all day, and tapped his toes to an imaginary beat.

A few desks over, Ryan was trying to concentrate on a particularly difficult question. His ears picked up a distracting tapping sound, and he turned to see Troy bobbing as he hummed some annoying song. Ryan grumbled. It was so like Troy to just sit around and do nothing. And it wasn't enough to hinder his own progress. He had to whisper, and pass notes, and whistle, making focusing on homework a constant battle for the students who actually cared about passing math. Of course, Ryan didn't do anything about it. What _could_ he do? Ask Troy to stop? Troy barely _noticed_ Ryan, why in the hell would he _listen_ to him? Ryan found himself looking at the clock, as he counted the minutes left of this agony. To his delight, he only had to count the seconds, and packed away his things before the bell rang. As it sounded, the class got up and left for their lockers. The end of the day was finally upon them. Ryan slung his back over his shoulder and followed the mob of students out the door. He made it to his locker and opened it up. He groaned as he packed his books into his bag one by one. Tonight was going to be a homework night for sure. He heard someone giggling, and Ryan turned to see Troy and Gabriella a few lockers down. This was ridiculous! Would Ryan ever be able to escape Troy Bolton and his annoying antics? He slammed his locker shut and stalked away.

Gabriella turned to see Ryan stomping away. "What's eating him?"

"Hm?" Troy hadn't noticed anything, and he didn't bother to find out who Gabriella was talking about before turning her face back in his direction. He flashed her a grin and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.

"Troy." Gabriella said playfully. "Stop it!" Troy pulled away and took Gabriella's hand. "So what's up?" Gabriella asked, following Troy out of the school.

"Just wanted to see you." Troy said, as they made it outside. Spring had finally come, but it was still pretty nippy outside. Troy zipped up his windbreaker as Gabriella slipped on her gloves. They took each other's hand again and walked down the sidewalk.

"Wanna grab some hot chocolate?" Gabriella suggested. Troy nodded.

"Sure." They continued walking toward a popular café around the block. It was pretty busy when they got there, and they were hard pressed to find a table after getting their drinks. They saw a lone blond sitting by the window, staring through the foggy glass.

A nice cup of hot chocolate was just the thing Ryan needed. He sighed contentedly as he watched the hustle and bustle outside.

"Hey Ryan!" Ryan jumped, spilling some hot chocolate on himself. He looked up to see Troy and Gabriella standing before him. Oh what did he do to deserve this?

"Hey guys!" Ryan said, feigning a bright and cheery mood. "Take a seat." He said in spite of himself. The other two took their seat as Ryan dabbed at his sweater with a napkin.

Troy smiled at Ryan, sporting a hot chocolate moustache. "What's up?"

"Not much." Before he could say much else, Gabriella let out a laugh.

"Oh Troy, you've got cocoa all over your mouth." She took a napkin and wiped Troy's mouth clean. Ryan sighed quietly as Troy and Gabriella shared their cute moment. He came here for some peace and quiet. Troy and Gabriella he didn't need.

"Well, I've got a mountain of homework." Ryan said. "I should go." He didn't really want to leave the café so soon and do his homework, but if he stayed, he'd have to resist vomiting because of Troy and Gabriella being all… _cute_.

"Aww, okay Ryan." Gabriella said disappointedly. "See you later then."

"See ya man." Troy said. Ryan waved before squeezing his way out of the café. He zipped his parka up and pulled his mittens on. If there was anything more annoying than Troy, it was the cold. Ryan grumbled as he trudged through the melting snow. Ryan felt a little guilty leaving Troy and Gabriella so abruptly, but seeing them together was not exactly fun for him. Gabriella was a nice girl, and Troy was… _okay_, but something about them got on Ryan's nerves. Maybe it was because they were always together. As Ryan stopped to the think about it, he realized he had never really seen them apart. Ever since Gabriella showed up at East High, they pretty much spent every waking moment together. Ryan didn't really know why it bothered him so much, but it did. Was it jealousy? Was Ryan jealous of Troy because he was with Gabriella? Did he even like Gabriella that way? _…Not really_. She was too much of a goody-goody. What Troy saw in her, he couldn't see. Ryan found it a bit stupid that he was thinking so much about people that were putting him in such a bad mood, so he tried to push them aside as he made his way home.

* * *

what a grump. Ryan's no fun at all. well, not _yet_, heh heh heh...

ugh, you know how cutsey couples like Troyella get, it's so disgusting sometimes.

anyways, i hope you're liking this new story. i have big plans for it.

thanks so much for reading!


	2. Getting to Know You

aloha!

thank you guys for the reviews! here we have, the second chapter (obviously...)

**WARNING:** SEX SCENE!

HAHA, fooled you. oh yes, how mean of me. oh don't tell me you fell for that? a sex scene in the 2nd chapter? yeah right. heh, anyways, there's not a lot i can say about this chapter, so you'll just have to read it :) enjoy!

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**_Chapter Two: Getting to Know You_**

In a stark contrast to his bright attire, Ryan was feeling rather blue. He sighed as he sat on the edge of the stage. It was free period, and he and Sharpay had just practiced a number from the next school play. Kelsi sat beside him.

"Hey Ryan." She said. "Something wrong? Your cha-cha wasn't as springy as it usually is."

Ryan shrugged. "I guess I'm just tired."

But Kelsi was still suspicious. That was a pretty obvious lie, especially for the Drama King. Something was clearly wrong. "You sure?"

"Well…" Ryan said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go for it." Kelsi said brightly. "What is it?"

"It's Troy and Gabriella." Ryan said. "There's just something about them that bugs me. What d'you think is wrong with me?"

Kelsi nodded in realization. "Ohh, so that's what it is."

"What? What is it?"

"I think Ryan's jealous." Kelsi said, grinning wide. Ryan frowned.

"Ha, no I'm not jealous of that annoying show-off." Ryan spat. "I'd gladly say I'm jealous of anyone else, but not _him_."

"Whoa, okay Ryan, chill out." Kelsi said, taken aback.

"Sorry. But do you see what I mean? I can't stand them!"

Kelsi sighed. "Have you even tried to get to know them?"

Ryan looked at Kelsi. "Why would I—"

"Why wouldn't you?" Kelsi asked. "They're not horrible people, you know. Just give them a chance."

Ryan let what Kelsi suggested sink in. He never did get a chance to really talk to either of them. They were always just there. And Sharpay's grudge against them may have rubbed off a bit on him. He had to admit, _Twinkle Towne_ wasn't really that spectacular as Troy's understudy. But maybe Kelsi was right. Maybe Ryan was just judging them too quickly. After all, there had to be more to them than what he always saw. "Oh fine… I'll give them a chance."

Kelsi patted Ryan on the back. "That's the spirit." The bell rang, and Ryan and Kelsi headed for the cafeteria.

As crazy as it sounded, Ryan hadn't brought a lunch to school that day, even though there was an army of chefs in his kitchen. Must have slipped his mind while he was sulking. In any case, Ryan was pretty hungry now, so he descended from his usual table overlooking the cafeteria and got into the lunch line.

_How degrading_ Ryan thought. The line was particularly rowdy and unorganized that day, as the special of the day was pizza. As he fought to keep his place in the line, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hands off buddy! The last ham and pineapple is mine!" Ryan whipped around and came face to face with Troy.

"That's okay, I'm goin' for the meat lovers." He said, grinning.

"Oh Troy!" Ryan said, feeling his temperature rise. "Sorry I didn't know it was you."

"Hey no worries." Troy said. "Ham and pineapple's always first to go."

Ryan let out a nervous laugh.

"No five-course lunch today?" Troy asked.

"No… I must have left it at home or something."

Troy nodded. "I see." Despite the shouting and screaming for the last of the pepperoni, an awkward silence fell between the two boys.

"Next!" Called the incredibly nasally voice of the cafeteria lady. Ryan spun around. "What'll be dear?"

"Ham and pineapple please."

A paper plate with a pathetic excuse for a slice of pizza on it slid his way. Ryan looked incredulously at the lunch lady.

"Hey, don't look at me. Get your tush down here faster next time and get a better piece. Next!" As Ryan turned, he gave Troy a final glance.

"Uh, see you around."

"Yeah, see ya." Troy said, before ordering his pizza.

Making his way back to his table, Ryan sighed. He supposed that was an okay first step in getting to know Troy Bolton better. As he took his seat and ate his pizza, he wondered if maybe Troy wasn't really the annoying, selfish person Ryan made him out to be.

_Maybe…_

-o-O-O-O-o-

It was time for math class again. As everyone filed into the classroom, their teacher collected the homework. The homework Troy didn't do.

"That means detention, Mr. Bolton." His teacher informed.

"Yes sir." Troy said grimly, making his way to his desk. Ryan couldn't help but feel a little smug that Troy landed himself a detention. He_ was_ pretty distracting yesterday. But the voice of Kelsi echoed inside his head.

_"They're not horrible people, you know."_

Ryan sighed. Maybe he felt a bit sorry for Troy too. After all, he knew math wasn't Troy's strong subject. He heard a familiar giggle as Gabriella entered the class.

"Trooy!"

Ryan groaned. _Here we go again…_ Gabriella swept past Ryan to Troy's desk, sitting atop it.

"Hey." Troy greeted. "Listen, I won't be able to do anything today. I've got detention."

Gabriella shook her head. "See, you should have listened when I told you to get back to work."

"Sorry babe." Troy said, taking Gabriella's hand. "Maybe tomorrow."

_Yes, maybe tomorrow, _Ryan thought. _Maybe tomorrow you can restart this horrible cycle of sugar-coated cuteness until it kills me._ Oddly, Troy was not as enthusiastic as Ryan on the notion. Gabriella hopped off Troy's desk and took her seat.

Today's class was marginally better than the last. Troy, having learned his lesson, was busy with his work, and the room was more or less peaceful. Ryan was able to finish off his homework before the bell rang, much to his delight. At the end of class, Ryan happily made his way to his locker. He was looking forward to a quiet night at home. After gathering his books from his locker, Ryan made his way down the science hall to leave. As he passed by one of the chemistry rooms, he spotted Troy. If Ryan had it his way, he would have ignored this sight and moved on, but Kelsi's voice berated him again somewhere in his subconscious. That, coupled with Troy's positively gloomy demeanor, pulled Ryan into the detention room. Noticing he had a visitor, Troy looked up from a textbook he was reading.

"Hey Ryan." He greeted.

"Fascinating stuff, isn't it?" Ryan said, gesturing toward the book and taking a seat beside Troy.

Troy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, really." Ryan let a small smile stretch across his face. Silence fell between them again, but Ryan was determined to break it somehow.

"So are you trying out for the play?"

Troy shrugged. "Depends."

"On?"

"Well, I definitely won't be doing another mushy play with Gabriella again."

Ryan quirked an eyebrow. This was news. "Why's that?"

Troy gave Ryan a look that said _O__h please._ "I might sing and dance, but I can't stand all the theatre romantics! It's hard enough in real life!"

Ryan laughed. "Fair point. How about a comedy then?"

Troy gave the idea some thought. "I'd consider it."

Ryan nodded. Okay, this was good. He was having a normal conversation with Troy, and without having to suppress the need to vomit. He was getting to know Troy.

_Happy now Kelsi?_

The conversation continued. Troy and Ryan batted ideas back and forth for the new play. Troy was all for the high-energy dance numbers, which complimented Ryan's idea for extravagant costumes. They both agreed comedy had it all over romance. As they whiled away detention discussing musicals, Ryan was starting to forget that he almost considered just passing Troy by. It was actually nice to talk to Troy. He had no idea that a jock would have such interesting opinions on theatre. Talking with Troy had become less of a necessity and more a pleasure. In fact, he would have continued, but a certain angry sister had finally found her missing sibling.

"Ryan!" Shrilled the unmistakable voice of Sharpay. Her heels clicked against the linoleum as she stomped over to Troy and Ryan's table. "I have been looking all over for you. What are you doing here?"

Ryan shrugged. "Just talking to Troy."

Sharpay shot a glare at Troy who forced a smile and a feeble wave.

"You were _supposed_ to come shopping with me after school." Sharpay said, aggravated. "_What_ are you going to wear for dinner this Friday?"

"Clothes, hopefully." Ryan quipped.

Sharpay pointed a finger at Ryan. "Don't test me today Ryan. I have broken _three_ nails!" And Ryan realized the finger she was holding in front of his nose sported a chipped nail.

"Oh no, how terrible. How awful of me to test your patience"

Sharpay's face scrunched up. "Oh you think you're so funny. Well you can laugh yourself all the way home through a blizzard, because I'm leaving without you!" And Sharpay fled the room as fast as her heels and distinguished strut would allow. Ryan sighed.

"I'd better catch up with her. Something tells me she isn't kidding."

Troy nodded. "Yeah, all right then. Thanks for stopping by."

Ryan grinned. "I figured you might need something a bit more interesting to do. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see ya."

Ryan waved to Troy as he left the room. That wasn't too bad. Troy was actually a pretty cool guy. He wondered why Troy had always come off as so annoying before. Was Ryan really that blind? Why couldn't Ryan see more of that Troy? He continued to wonder as Sharpay grasped his arm and dragged him outside, sputtering something about him not knowing his priorities.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy felt a bit strange as his truck rumbled down the icy streets for home. Ryan had unexpectedly showed up for a visit during his detention earlier, and Troy was curious to know why. He had never really spoken to Ryan in the past. He had nothing against Ryan, but the same couldn't be said for the opposite. He and Sharpay undoubtedly held some grudges after being beat out for the leads of _Twinkle Towne_. Even before then, Ryan was never really that talkative with Troy. He was pretty good at avoiding Troy. He figured they just didn't share any interests. However, another thing could be said for today. He and Ryan could have talked for ages had it not been for Sharpay.

He liked it. He enjoyed having a nice, casual conversation with Ryan, and wondered why it didn't happen more often. The answer skipped into his head with a giggle and a cute dress. Gabriella. There was nothing wrong with her, but she was with him a lot. Troy felt guilty saying it, but he was almost grateful for his detention. It provided a short break from never-ending attachment with Gabriella.

"But," Troy said to himself, "She is my girlfriend. It's totally okay for her to be like that." He nodded in agreement with himself. Troy liked to say things to himself sometimes. It gave them more meaning, and it helped Troy be more sure of himself. Even if it was a little silly.

As Troy stepped out of his truck onto his driveway, he tugged on the scarf wrapped around his neck. Winter was definitely ending, and the sun seemed pretty eager to warm up Albuquerque again. Shedding some of his heavy attire, Troy fumbled for his keys and let himself into the house.

"Time for some math homework." He sighed.

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and so ends chapter 2.

man oh man, am i ever tired. its 2:37AM right now, which is actually pretty early, since im usually up till 4AM reading or writing stuff, but ive had a very busy week. lots of gruelling swimming. and i spent last night trying to learn some of the dances off Hairspray. i have **no idea** how it is even possible to do a Mashed Potato, someone will have to personally teach that one to me, but other than that, i've _kinda_ got Ladie's Choice and Peyton Place :). oh, and i decided to review my HSM dances as well :) i was in a dancy mood.

anyways, enough chatter about dancing. i hope you liked that chapter. i think its really cute how Troy talks to himself, i'll definitely be doing more of that. and i always have a lot of fun writing dialogue between Ryan and Sharpay.

now, im going to try my **hardest** to keep the Gabriella bashing to a minimum, but it's so damn hard when you're writing a Tryan. ARGH!

oh, and to Tertiary Genesis about my writing style, ive always kinda written like that (with other fandoms), but all my other HSM fics had a lot of character interaction, so they had more dialogue and describing all the things they did together. this story focusses a lot on just individual people sorting through their thoughts, and thus long streams indepth stuff and rhetorical questions. if that clears things up.

so um... yeah, that's about all there is to say for now. im halfway through chapter 4 (i like to keep ahead, just in case i get writer's block or something), so the next few chapters should be coming your way soon. in the meantime, pleeeaaase review, it means _the world_ to me!!

thanks so much for reading!


	3. Musicals and Mashed Potatoes

It's the mooost wonderful tiiime of the yeear!

its December everyone! and we've got snow! TONS of it:) this is why i love winter. it's such a magical feeling to stand outside in the middle of the night and watch the snow fall. to have it dot your clothes with white. to make tracks in the snow and catch snowflakes on your tongue

...even if you happen to be doing it in the parking lot of a grocery store. what can i say? i work as a cashier, and there's nothing like a good snowfall to let you forget all the annoying people you had to deal with all day long.

but Tertiary Genesis is probably lounging the beach right now soaking up the rays and drinking pina coladas down under -is jealous-.

anyways, there's one main reason im posting this chapter today. so i can post chapter 4 ASAP! lemme tell you now, its a _doozy_ of a chapter! this one... well its cute.

i've also reverted to my old chapter headings from Sing With Me. I tihnk they look nicer :) hope you enjoy this chapter, there's a bit of Tryan fluff in there :) oh, and a _hint_ of gabi-bashing... ENJOY!

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**-Chapter Three-  
Musicals and Mashed Potatoes**

The rest of the week passed, and Troy and Ryan had few encounters. As always, Gabriella had herself glued to Troy all day long, Ryan keeping himself well out of the way. However, Gabriella noticed a slight change in Troy. He was a lot less eager to spend time with her, pulling away for stupid reasons. Suddenly Troy seemed to enjoy talking to others more, especially Ryan. Of course, auditions were coming up, so that was excusable. After all, she and Troy would no doubt land the leads for another romantic stage drama. Or so she thought.

"It's a _what?_"

"A comedy." Ryan repeated. He, along with Gabriella and Troy, were in the auditorium, discussing the new play.

"And how many leads are there?"

"Two." Ryan said. Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief.

"So it's a romantic comedy then?"

But Ryan shook his head. "Nope, it's just a comedy. The two leads are males."

"_What?!_" Gabriella blurted. "Just a comedy? Two male leads?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, there's nothing wrong with that. Not all musicals are romantic."

Gabriella had another idea. _All_ musicals were romantic. They _had_ to be. Why else would people randomly break out into song? She couldn't do a comedy. She wouldn't! This was theatre, not stand-up! Ryan and Troy shared between them an awkward glance. They knew what Gabriella was thinking. She caught the brief eye contact between the boys.

"What?" She hissed.

"Nothing." Ryan said innocently.

Troy took Gabriella's arm. "Y'know, we should go." Without waiting for her reply, he spun Gabriella around. Troy craned his neck to look back Ryan, mouthing the word 'Sorry'.

Ryan shrugged. 'It's okay'.

Outside the auditorium, Troy continued to steer Gabriella away.

"Not a romance?" Gabriella cried disbelievingly. "Is this a joke?"

"Gabriella, I don't see what the big deal is. Don't you want to try something new?"

"No!" Gabriella said. "What's wrong with you? Don't you want to do a romance?"

Troy grimaced and gave Gabriella a shifty glance. "Not really." This was obviously not welcome news.

"Troy, I don't know what's wrong with you. But give me a call when you figure it out." And with that, Gabriella separated herself from Troy and stalked away. As he watched his girlfriend walked away, Troy slowly raised an eyebrow. Seemed a bit early for that time of month…

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan was at his locker again, sorting through his scattered assignments. He felt someone tap his shoulder, and he turned to face Troy. It had become a bit of a ritual. Whenever Ryan was at his locker, Troy would sneak up behind him and tap him. He wasn't sure how it started, or why, but he kind of liked it. Troy always did it when there was something on his mind, and he wanted to tell Ryan about it.

"Hello Troy." Ryan said, before even seeing the brunet. When he did, Troy looked a bit concerned. "What's up?"

Troy sighed. "It's Gabriella. She's been so edgy lately."

Ryan shut his locker, and he and Troy started walking down the hall. "Yeah, I noticed."

"What do you think it means?" Troy asked.

"It means she's a girl." Ryan replied simply. "They don't need reasons for _anything_."

While Ryan's advice wasn't very helpful, it was the truth. Gabriella was seemingly angry for no reason.

"She could just be having girl problems." Ryan suggested.

Troy gave Ryan a confused look. "I thought it was the guys that got girl problems…"

Ryan laughed. "Not _those_ kind of girl problems. Personal problems."

"Ohh." Troy said in realization. "Well, I thought that… but it's a bit early."

"Early?" Ryan asked snickering. "You actually keep track?"

"Trust me, it helps." Troy and Ryan shared a laugh as the pushed through the front doors. Ryan stopped as a cold gust of wind rushed at him.

"Gah! I hate the cold." He said, bundling himself up. Troy shook his head, smiling.

"Then why don't you wear a proper winter jacket?"

"Because a proper winter jacket just didn't match my hat today." Ryan said. His fruitless attempts at staying warm made Troy laugh even more.

"Here." Troy slipped off his scarf and wrapped it around Ryan's head. The blond looked at Troy, the lower half of his face now hidden under Troy's scarf.

"You dint puh ih on righ." Came Ryan's muffled voice.

"What's that?" Troy asked, not letting his laughter die down. Ryan pulled the scarf away from his mouth.

"You didn't put it on right!" He said, rearranging the garment. As he straightened Troy's scarf, Troy pocketed his ungloved hands and started whistling. Now, annoying as that was a few days ago, suddenly it was a lot more bearable for Ryan. Was he really taking that great a liking to Troy? Ryan dismissed that idea. He wasn't trying to concentrate on math right now, that's all. It was all right if they were just strolling down the sidewalk. Come to think of it, why were they walking down the sidewalk?

"Troy, where are we going?"

Troy gave Ryan a shrug. "Dunno. Wherever."

The two ended up at Troy's house. Outside, Mr. Bolton was taking the Christmas lights down.

"Hey dad!" Troy called to his father. Mr. Bolton looked down from the top of the ladder.

"Good afternoon boys." He said. The two made their way to the front door, and Troy ushered Ryan in. As soon as he stepped into the entryway, Mrs. Bolton was all over Ryan.

"Ryan dear, look at you!" She fussed. "You look positively chilled to the bone. Come in, we'll get you some hot soup." Troy followed as his mother herded Ryan into the kitchen. Ryan found it a bit strange that Troy's mother was calling him dear, but that's the kind of mom she was. Troy found it so embarrassing. After being seated at the table, a giant bowl of turkey soup was placed in front of Ryan.

"Eat! My goodness, we need to put some meat on you!" Mrs. Bolton fretted.

"Mom." Troy groaned. "Give him a break!" A bowl was placed in front of him too.

"You need to eat too young man. You can't be running all over creation on an empty stomach." Troy rolled his eyes as his mother disappeared into the kitchen again.

"And that's the Bolton family for you."

"Mine isn't much better." Ryan joked as he spooned some soup into his mouth. "By the way, this soup is delicious."

Troy slurped down his soup in a flash then led Ryan to his bedroom. Amidst the expected basketball posters and East High colour scheme, there were also posters of well-known musicals, including a personal favourite or Ryan's, Hairspray.

"Okay Ry," Troy said. "Can you show me that dance for the opening number? I can't get it for the life of me."

_Ry?_ Since when did Troy have a nickname for Ryan? The only other person who called him that was Sharpay, and that was when she was too lazy to utter the second syllable. But it sounded very different coming from Troy. It wasn't from lack of interest in Ryan. It was quite the opposite. Obviously if Troy saw fit to honor Ryan with a nickname, he valued him that much as a friend. Either that or he was as lazy as Sharpay. Ryan hoped it was the former.

"Uh, hello? Ryan?" Troy waved a hand in front of Ryan's face and he snapped back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, right. The opening dance." Ryan stood beside Troy and assumed his starting position. "First, we start off with a twist." Ryan placed one foot in front of him, rocking his heel back and forth as he twisted his body. "Troy?"

Troy didn't really look interested in doing the dance, but he was having a merry time watching Ryan do it. Did he always have that conspicuously round ass?

"Troy!" Troy jumped as Ryan pulled him out of his thoughts. _Where_ did that come from?

"Sorry." Troy said quickly. "I just zoned out for a sec." He tried to mimic Ryan's movements, but found it tricky. He was having a hard time coordinating all the twisting his body was doing. Ryan laughed.

"Okay, let's forget the arms and just focus on the feet." Ryan placed his right foot in front of him again, and Troy followed. "First, the heel moves left." Troy followed intently as Ryan demonstrated. "Then it goes right."

After having it broken down for him, Troy gradually got the hang of the twist. Soon he and Ryan twisting so much it was getting a bit ridiculous.

"Okay, I think we've got that move down." Ryan said laughing. The next move Troy found particularly funny.

"That _what?!_"

"The Mashed Potato!" Ryan said, swinging his legs back and forth. Troy made a silly face as he mirrored Ryan.

"What's next? The French Fry?"

"Hush you!" Ryan said.

Ryan didn't know how long he and Troy had been up in his room practicing dances, but it must have been pretty long. The sky outside the window was totally black when he heard Mrs. Bolton calling him down.

"Ryan! Your sister is here!" Ryan groaned.

"Something tells me this wont be pretty." He said, as he headed for the door. Troy followed him downstairs where they found an irritated looking Sharpay.

"Thank you _so much_ for calling. Dinner was _fabulous_ without you" Sharpay grumbled.

"Oh calm down." Ryan retorted. "Mom and Dad wont care anyway." Donning his jacket and hat, he turned to Troy and Mrs. Bolton. "Thanks for having me over."

"Anytime dear." Mrs. Bolton said sweetly. Troy sighed and pushed his mother out of the room.

"Stop calling him that!" He returned a few moments later without his mother.

"I'll see you on Monday then?" Ryan asked.

Troy nodded. "Yeah, we can practice during free period."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Practice all you want, but I'm getting that lead role."

"When's the sex change?" Ryan snorted. Sharpay eyed her brother.

"What?"

Troy stepped in to explain. "The leads are all male this year." Something reminiscent of Gabriella's reaction replayed on Sharpay's face.

"_What?!"_

Ryan grabbed Sharpay's arm. "Okay, time to go." He pulled Sharpay out of the house, taking one last look at troy. "Bye Troy."

"See ya, Ry."

* * *

tada!

troy and ryan dancing in Troy's room? a bit random, yeah, but all for the sake of cuteness. and not the puke-your-guts-out-cute Troyella cuteness, but the subtle, sweet, Tryan cuteness.

troy better keep those wandering eyes away from ryan's butt, or who knows _what_ will happen? heh... heh... heh...

so anyways, i hope you liked that chapter.

to Tertiary Genesis, thanks! its actually REALLY hard not to rush things, but things like this take time sometimes. and i know what you mean about deadlines. i have to write out lesson plans for an entire 10-day swimming course for my Swimming Instructor class, as well as list a bunch of drills used to perfect the four major strokes and whatnot. and then there's saving people's lives, which i completely failed at yesterday... oh boy... and your theory on Gabriella is actually plausible, maybe she did do it before. although, i still think she's a bit scrawny to be a lifeguard. cant wait for the next chap of Lockdown!

to Broken-SilverWings, thanks! i was really worried about my protrayal of Ryan, and everyone else. i hope it still fitting. and yes, i like taking a different approach regarding his relationship to Troy. i think its a bit more realistic that way. sex in the 2nd chapter's kinda pushing it, i didnt know people actualy did that :S when i do write the sex scenes, i want them to be tasteful, and not just sex for the sake of sex, if you know what i mean. and i assure, i am trying my darndest to not bash gabriella! thanks for reading!

to HSMTroypay07, thanks! hope you like the way its going so far, thanks for reading!

to evilpinkbutterfly101, thanks, im hopinh to get the chapters up as fast as i can

...and i just dont stop do i? i really need to shut up :P if i keep going my author's notes are gonna be longer than the actual story.

so yeah, hop you liked. i cant WAIT to post chapter 4! thanks for reading, and please review!


	4. Rehearsal

i find it a bit ironic that i was hyping this chapter so much and it wasn't even finished yet.

this is was an interesting chapter, because i wrote it, and then i made some major revisions and ended up re-writing like, 1,000 words. i actually liked the original version a bit better, but it didn't fit in with the plot i had in my mind so i had to do away with it.

but the main reason i wanted to post this chapter hasn't changed yet. i'll give you all a hint now: we get to see some Tryan stuff.

and uhh, i guess thats all there is to say for now. hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**-Chapter Four-  
Rehearsal**

The weatherman's promise of the temperature rising held true (for once), and people were happy to finally rid themselves of their bulky winter wear. Including Ryan. Monday rolled along, and Ryan came to school wearing jeans for the first time since autumn. It was still a bit cool for a shirt, so he had a light sweater on, adorned in East High colours. Walking down the halls, he caught a glimpse of Gabriella, who still looked a bit grumpy. He decided against talking to her, and continued walking to homeroom. He was the first there, as always.

"Good morning Ms. Darbus." Ryan chirped.

"And to you Mr. Evans." She replied, as she straightened a stack of papers. Ryan took his seat and pulled out his books.

"When are auditions for the play?" He asked.

"Thursday." Ms. Darbus answered, with a sigh. "Such a tedious task. Every year we get the same bunch of talentless wannabes. One more song from Cyndra and I'll go deaf." Ryan laughed. "Maybe I should just skip auditions this year. You and Bolton are as good as in anyway." Ryan's eyes widened.

"Me and Troy?"

"Of course." Ms. Darbus said. "You and your sister are the only reason I _do_ musicals. But seeing how our second lead is male too, I'd say Troy has more talent than the rest of the boys in our school combined."

This bit of information was a mixed bag for Ryan. He fully expected to land the lead role, as usual, and was pleased to hear it. But the prospect of sharing the spotlight with Troy put a damper on things. The stage was one of the few sanctioned, Troy-free places where Ryan could find solace. If he couldn't escape him in class or the hallways, he could at least retreat to the stage. Now, partly thanks to that girlfriend of his, another square of the school had been invaded and conquered.

Still, it wasn't the end of the world. Troy had _some_ talent with theatre. That much was true. And he had a few redeeming qualities, which seemed to be more prominent as of late. Ryan thought back to the previous Friday. Dancing with Troy had actually been fun, and Ryan got to know even more about Troy's liking toward musicals. And seeing how Troy had had a hand in deciding the genre of this year's musical (one that didn't exist in Gabriella's mind), Ryan thought it was only fair that he have some part in it. Even if it had to be the lead part. Ryan would cope somehow.

The first bell sounded, and students slowly started filtering into the classroom. To Ryan's surprise and annoyance, Gabriella strode in with Troy by the hand. She was happily gabbing away with him, but Troy pulled away in the middle of one of her sentences.

"Hey Ryan." Troy said, hopping onto Ryan's desk. Gabriella looked quite offended standing on the spot Troy abandoned her on.

"Hey Troy." Ryan said, smirking at Gabriella's reaction. Troy's smile faltered slightly when he opened his mouth to speak again.

"About free period today…" He said in a hushed voice. "I—"

But Troy was interrupted by a loud clap "Everyone take your seats!" Ms. Darbus called. Knowing not to defy his drama teacher, Troy reluctantly slid off Ryan's desk.

Ryan frowned. He tried to ask Troy to finish what he was saying, but Troy had already taken his seat at his own desk beside Gabriella. What was Troy going to say about free period? Was he going to call off the rehearsal? Ryan sighed and faced the front, where Ms. Darbus stood to address the class. He would just have to find out later.

"Now as you all know," She started, "Auditions for the spring musicale will be this Thursday, during free period. Any of those daring enough to join us on this exciting journey are welcome to come, but only those who posses the spirit of the theatre shall be cast." She cast a glance at Troy and Ryan. "So… good luck!"

Ryan snorted as he heard Ms Darbus add "You'll need it" under her breath. The rest of the class was spent sitting though a well-rehearsed tirade against cell phones. At the sound of the bell, Ryan sprinted out of the room for the auditorium. He pushed past the crowds of people in a fashion befitting Sharpay, but Ryan wanted to get there as soon as possible. He ducked through a shop class, much to the teacher's annoyance, and finally found the auditorium. Pushing through the doors, Ryan hoped he would see Troy there. The door swung open slowly, and Ryan followed the dimly lit aisle down to the stage. Troy wasn't there… He blew Ryan off. Ryan's disappointment was soon replaced by frustration.

_It figures._ Ryan thought spitefully. _Obviously Gabriella's more important than me. Obviously Troy's not going to do the musical because of her anymore. Obviously—_

"Hey Ryan!"

…_I'm wrong…_ Ryan blinked his eyes to make sure it was actually Troy entering the room and not a Troy shaped speck of dust on his eye. A square of light shone through the open auditorium doors as Troy made his way down the aisle. Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. Troy hadn't blown him off. As Troy neared the stage Ryan was standing on, he spoke again.

"Sorry I'm late."

Ryan shook his head. "It's fine. But what were you trying to tell me this morning?"

"Oh…" Troy said, looking down. Ryan looked at him questioningly, but his query was answered by another person entering the room.

"There you are Troy!"

Ryan's face fell. It was _her_. Why was she here? Ryan let out a groan as he watched Gabriella enter the auditorium and join the two boys on the stage.

"What are you doing here?" Ryan blurted. Gabriella looked up at Ryan.

"Oh, didn't Troy tell you? He invited me to rehearse with you." She gave Ryan a sweet smile.

Ryan's eyes met Troy's. "Did he now?"

Troy shook his head vigorously and mouthed the word 'NO!' repeatedly. Ryan got the message.

"Umm, okay then. I guess we can get this rehearsal started then." Ryan said awkwardly. He lined Troy and Gabriella up, standing in front of them. They started with Troy's favourite, the Mashed Potato. Troy and Ryan were perfectly fine doing that step, but Gabriella was having some trouble.

"I can't get it!" She sighed. She looked helplessly at Ryan.

"Just keep practicing." Ryan said, spotting a million different things wrong with Gabriella's Mashed Potato, but he kept them to himself. It _was_ a bit amusing as he watched Gabriella struggle. "It'll come eventually." They tried a few more steps before coming to the Twist. Again, Troy had a hard time following along. Instead of telling Troy to keep practicing, Ryan thought he'd step in and do what his dance teacher liked to call, _physical manipulation._ He stood behind and placed his hands on Troy's hips. Troy gasped softly at Ryan's touch, but didn't protest.

"Why don't I help you." Ryan suggested. Troy nodded.

Gabriella looked in their direction and a grin stretched across her face. "Getting a little cozy are we boys?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. " I'm just helping him with the dance."

Gabriella snickered. "Okay then, if you say so." She pulled her gaze away from Troy and Ryan and focused on the back of the auditorium as she practiced her Mashed Potato.

Ryan turned back to Troy. "Ready?"

"Yeah, let's do this." Ryan nodded, and rested his hands on Troy's hips again.

"Right foot forward." Ryan instructed as Troy followed. "Now pivot on your toe as you swing your heel left and right." Troy did as Ryan said. "Now, for your hips…" Ryan grasped Troy a bit tighter and moved his body in the direction he wanted. "Move this way…" Ryan pulled Troy in the opposite direction. "…then that way." Ryan directed Troy's hips back and forth.

As he did, Troy had the weirdest feeling inside of him. This was probably the closest another guy had ever gotten to him, including his best friends like Chad and Zeke. And Ryan had his hands on Troy's waist, usually where Gabriella kept her hands when they made out.

"But," Troy mumbled to himself. "This is totally different. It's not like we're making out or anything."

"Did you say something Troy?" Ryan asked from behind him.

"Ah, no!" Troy said. He mentally slapped his head. He was talking to himself again. How embarrassing. Troy sighed. He shouldn't feel like this at all. All Ryan was doing was helping him with his Twist. That's all there was to it, and Troy was making a huge deal out of it. But Ryan's hot breath against his neck served as a constant reminder of his close proximity to the Evans boy. He felt so vulnerable in this position. Is this how people felt when they got raped?

Ryan wondered what Troy was muttering to himself as he guided him through the dance. Probably about how gay it felt right now to have another guy rocking his hips back and forth. He breathed in deeply. Good respiration was vital for dancing. As he did, he caught a whiff of some strange smell. It was subtle, but at the same time it grabbed Ryan's attention immediately. Ryan let it fill his lungs. It was a very alluring scent indeed. Is this how Troy always smelled? Ryan never noticed it before, but then again, this was the first time he had ever been so close to Troy.

Troy could almost hear every breath Ryan was taking in. They were barely moving at all and Ryan sounded like he was running a marathon. Troy thought perhaps a break was in order. Maybe Ryan needed to catch his breath? His mouthed opened to speak, but the words caught in his throat, somewhere near where Ryan's breath hit it. Why was he feeling like this? Every time Ryan exhaled, it sent shivers down Troy's spine. Now, Troy knew he was ticklish, but he never knew he was _that_ ticklish. It was such a strange and pleasant feeling all at the same time. Was Ryan pulling him backwards, or was it him?

Ryan and Troy had been twisting for what seemed like hours now. Wasn't Gabriella getting suspicious? But Ryan could not even pull his face away to check. Whatever Troy was wearing was having some weird effects on Ryan. He was suddenly feeling very lightheaded and unsteady. He was also starting to get a lot warmer, or was it that Troy's warm body was moving closer? Ryan couldn't tell anymore. All he could smell was the beautiful fragrance of Troy, and all he could see was the brown of his hair, inches from his nose…

Something was tickling the end of Ryan's nose. Was it that smell again? Or had he found something else?

Troy felt something graze against his neck. Was that still Ryan's breath? Or was it…

Ryan heard Gabriella shriek, and he pulled away from Troy, scared she had caught them so close. To his relief, Gabriella was still not looking at them, but she had fallen over. He and Troy ran over to her to help her up. She groaned

"Oh, it's useless. I'll never get it." She sighed. As Troy consoled her, Ryan lost himself in his thoughts. What had just happened? One minute he was helping Troy with his Twist, the next he was practically on top of him smelling him like a scratch-n-sniff sticker. What came over Ryan? Was it _normal_ for people to do that? Probably not.

"Ryan?"

"Huh?!" Ryan blinked his eyes and let reality wash over him. "Sorry, what?"

It was Gabriella who spoke. "I said I'm going now. I'll just try again later." She sounded a bit disappointed as she waved at the two boys and hopped off the stage. Ryan looked at Troy.

"You're not going with her?"

"Oh, well if you want me too I guess…" Troy said

"Oh no!" Ryan exclaimed. "That's not what I meant. I just thought that you'd want to go with her."

Troy shook his head. "Nah, I'll stay." Ryan nodded

The two continued to practice different dance moves, making a point to not try the Twist again.

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i didn't really know how to end this chapter, so sorry if it kinda sucked... 

hope you all enjoyed that little bit of Tryan-ness in there. thanks all of you for your kind reviews! ill try to update as soon as i can.

oh, and if you're bored, check out my profile. i have a poll up right now for best love song in HSM/HSM2. i also made myself a cute little avatar, photoshopping a pic of Troy and Ryan to make it look like they're cuddling :D

anywyas, that's all there is for now. thanks so much for reading!


	5. Ryan's Got It

thanks to zeo knight for being the only reviewer last chapter.

this chapter took a while to write, i think im surffering from wirter's block again.

im a bit disappointed that all the fics i'm reading are still at a standstill. i dont even have By Starlight to read anymore. i was so used to the first two, which were already completed byt the time i read them, and now i have to wait :(

that said, im trying my best to keep these reviews coming as fast as possible. hope you enjoy this chapter.

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**-Chapter Five-  
Ryan's Got It**

Troy tapped his pencil on his desk as he tried to concentrate, simultaneously breaking the concentration of everyone within earshot. He stopped the incessant tapping for a moment to chew thoughtfully on the eraser end, before resuming it. Math class was hard enough with having just the homework to worry about, but now something else was distracting him. He lost an internal battle of focus and glanced to his left again. Hunched over his binder with a determined frown on his face, Ryan was scribbling out his homework. Or next week's homework. The way that boy worked, he could have had the whole course done in a week. Troy grumbled. It wasn't fair. Why was Ryan gifted with such unwavering resolve, and Troy cursed with near ADD? Again, Ryan had become the centre of Troy's attention as he started at him.

It was an annoying habit Troy was constantly catching himself at. As each day passed and the temperature climbed, Ryan became persistently more noticeable. Perhaps it was the fact that he wasn't hidden under a million sweaters anymore in defense against the cold. Ryan left his seat for the pencil sharpener, and Troy noted Ryan was at least two inches taller than before. He watched as Ryan's jeans stretched over his rear as he walked. Yeah, that wasn't there before either. It was almost like Ryan had undergone a metamorphosis in the cocoon that was his immense winter wear over the past few months, and it only grew more obvious as Ryan continued to wear less clothing. Troy sighed. This wasn't helping at all to find out how _x_ equaled 16 over pi. He turned back to his work and tried to focus.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Troy's gaze lift from him. He checked over all the work he had just done, which was a surprising amount despite Troy's annoying tapping. It unnerved Ryan to have Troy staring at him all the time, so he tried to focus all his attention to his work. It probably made him look like some braniac workaholic, but Ryan needed that distraction. Like many things with Troy, Ryan didn't really notice when it started, but Troy had suddenly made a habit of periodically glancing at Ryan during class. And more often than not, those glances lingered long enough to become stares. Was he really that interesting? Ryan turned the tables and chanced a glance at Troy, but it looked like he was finally getting to work. Ryan sighed. He didn't know how much more of this he could take before it drove him insane.

The bell rang, and more than anyone else, Troy and Ryan were immensely relieved to escape the confines of the classroom and the presence of each other. Today was Thursday, which meant the auditions were taking place. Troy packed away his things and made for the auditorium. Along the way, Gabriella found him, chattering excitedly about the auditions. It was just added background noise as Troy tried to think. How many guys would be auditioning for the leads? He didn't know that many great male actors, and the only one that came to mind was Ryan. Lead by his girlfriend, Troy entered the auditorium to find it already filled with the usual contenders. He took a seat in the third row beside Gabriella. The room slowly filled with more students until Ms. Darbus locked the door and glided onto the stage. Taking in a deep breath, she gave her usual welcome speech and called up the first auditionee. Troy turned away from the stage and scanned the people sitting in the audience. He was a bit surprised to see a few other guys from the basketball team waiting to audition. Troy's influence must have rubbed off on them. He could spot Jason and Zeke sitting a few rows behind him. They were soon called up for their auditions in turn. Zeke actually had a decent singing voice, but Jason was definitely not cut out for the theatre. If anything, they were up there to try and impress Sharpay and Kelsi. After Jason's audition, Ms. Darbus called up the next person.

"Ryan Evans!"

Ryan got up from his seat, as wasn't surprised to see Troy looking at him again. He climbed onto the stage and grabbed his microphone. As he stepped into the spotlight, he felt a flurry of butterflies in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like him to get nervous during an audition, but things were different this time. This was the first time _ever_ that he had taken the stage on without his sister. It felt strange, almost a bit scary. Worse yet, Troy couldn't keep his eyes off of Ryan. He took in a deep breath as Kelsi started to play his song.

Under the intense spotlight, Ryan's features were even more noticeable. Troy's eyes were glued to Ryan as he prepared himself to sing. What was that Kelsi was playing? It sounded familiar, but Troy couldn't quite place it. It was only when Ryan started singing that Troy recognized it.

With a grin on his face, Ryan looked out toward the audience. "Let's do it."

Troy's mouth hung open as he watched Ryan's rendition of _You Got It_. Troy could never really take Ryan seriously onstage before. All the peppy, happy-go-lucky songs kinda creeped him out. But this song was a total reversal of what Ryan normally did with Sharpay. He listened to Ryan's seductive voice as he rocked his body to the beat. He was seeing Ryan in a completely different light now. He wasn't skipping around the stage holding hands with his sister and singing sunshine and lollipops. He was slinking around the stage in a sexy tribute to some imaginary girl. If Ryan was hard to ignore before, it was nothing compared to this.

Ryan had a perpetual grin plastered on his face as he crooned and growled his way through his audition. He could see Troy in the audience staring up at him with an awed expression. Not quite what he was expecting form the looks of it. It wasn't exactly Ryan's first choice either, but he had to do something to set himself apart from the others. He had a reputation to keep as the school's best performer. After all, the theatre was all about taking risks. His grin widened and he winked at Troy.

"Come on now, just take your best shot."

Troy blinked. Did Ryan just direct that line at him? He heard a giggle beside him and turned to see Gabriella blushing. _Oh… it was to her._ Well, of course it was! Why on earth would Ryan say that to Troy? Troy shook his head.

"Gosh Troy, you're so dumb sometimes…"

"You say something Troy?" Gabriella asked.

Troy jumped and looked at her. "Oh… no." _Damn it! I was talking to myself again!_ That was another habit he needed to kick. Ryan's performance ended, and he received a standing ovation from everyone in the auditorium, even Sharpay. He took his bow and hopped off the stage.

Ms. Darbus gave a dramatic sigh. "And _that_ is why we love the theatre! Next, Troy Bolton!"

Troy never felt so outdone in all his life. Would he even stand a chance against Ryan? Well, it didn't matter much anyways seeing how there was always the other lead. Still, Troy was having a hard time focusing on his on rehearsal as he replayed Ryan's in his head.

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this was a fun one. i had You Got It looping the whole time i wrote it, just to help me along. i just love the song so much :P

im hoping you all havent mysteriously boycotted my stories and just somehow missed chapter 4...

and if you guys know any good Tryans, please tell me about them, im always looking for one to read. preferably a lighter one, but angsty ones are okay too. and if they have sex, all the better :)

on the topic of sex, i actually have 1 and a half sex scenes written for this story already. i just have to get to a certain point in the story before i can incorporate them in. i think i also have to tone them down a bit, if i wanna post them without gettin my ass busted by some admin for explicit content. so um, look forward to those.

and that's all there is for now. thanks to everyone whos reading this fic!


	6. It's Called Crime and Punishment, Bolton

hey everyone :) how've y'all been?

now, this is one of those longer 2,000+ word chapters, just as a forewarning. its one of my favourites, the ending especially. things get even more heated between our developing love triangle, in more ways than one.

and to Tertiary Genesis, dont risk the life of your computer! my story isn't worth _that!_ if your computer dies, then you'll never be able to post the next chapter for Lockdown :(

anyways, hope you enjoy!

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**-Chapter Six-  
It's Called Crime and Punishment, Bolton**

It didn't really come as a surprise to anyone that the leads went to Ryan and Troy. Troy's audition seemed to be a bit bumpy, and he seemed very distracted, but Ms. Darbus thought it best to save everyone's ears from Jason's horrendous singing.

With the play now officially underway, rehearsals were in full swing. Being the two leads, Ryan and Troy spent almost every day after school practicing with each other. They spent a lot of time talking with each other. Ryan surprised Troy with his breadth of golf expertise, another mutual passion of theirs'. And Ryan was delighted to hear Troy used to take music lessons, an obvious passion of Ryan's. As time passed, Ryan slowly forgot about the annoying Troy Bolton that tapped his pencil and stared at him in class, and got to know the funny, charming, well-rounded Troy Bolton. And Troy was just happy to talk to Ryan. He had known him all his life, but it seemed like he only just met him, and he really loved spending time with him.

And the best part was, Gabriella was completely oblivious to all this. Since she only landed a minor role, she had few rehearsals with the boys. Usually, she would be with the rest of the supporting cast, which included a disgruntled Sharpay, practicing ensemble numbers.

It was a few weeks before Gabriella started to get really suspicious. With rehearsals being the way they were, she was seeing less of her boyfriend with each day. Not only that, but even outside of rehearsals, Troy was almost always with Ryan. Something had to be done.

One day after school, Gabriella cornered Troy at his locker.

"Hello loverboy." She said, batting her lashes.

"Hey." Troy said distractedly. "No time to talk, I have to meet with Ry—"

But Troy didn't get to finish his sentence as Gabriella forced her lips onto his in a rather unexpected and awkward kiss.

"Why don't we forget the play for one day and just have some fun?" She said.

Troy, still taken aback from Gabriella's kiss, gave his girlfriend a questioning look. "Skip rehearsal? What did you have in mind?"

"Do we really need to plan it?" Gabriella said. "Why not just let loose and be spontaneous?"

"Spot-what?" Troy asked confusedly. Having Einstein's great great great great granddaughter as a girlfriend was not easy sometimes. Gabriella let out a sigh and took hold of Troy's hand.

"Come on!" Troy followed Gabriella down the hall. As they rounded the corner and entered the foyer, they bumped into Ryan.

"Oh, hey Troy!" Ryan greeted cheerfully. "Ready to rehearse?"

Troy gave Gabriella an uneasy glance. "Actually, Gabriella and I were going to be, uh… spot-a-tious…"

"Spontaneous." Gabriella corrected.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Spontaneous? Does that mean you're skipping out on rehearsals today?"

Gabriella huffed. "You make it sound so terrible. We're just gonna take a break, that's all. Besides, a girl needs to spend time with her man every once in a while."

"Yeah but, Troy's a lead. It's kinda important that he shows up to every rehearsal."

"Oh Ryan, don't be such a killjoy." Gabriella whined. Troy frowned.

"Gabriella, take that back."

But Ryan shook his head. "No, that's okay. You're right, a guy needs time to spend with his girlfriend. I'll cover for you guys…" Ryan's voice was filled with rejection and sorrow. He hung his head as he walked away.

"God that kid's annoying sometimes." Gabriella sighed, steering Troy out of the building. He ripped his hand from her grip.

"If you're not aware, that annoying kid just helped us out of rehearsal."

"Look Troy, if you'd rather hang out with Ryan, then go ahead but—"

"Gabriella, you know I don't mean that." Troy said. "I love you, okay?"

"Yeah?" Gabriella asked. "Good to know, 'cause you haven't been showing it lately." Troy sighed. Even if she didn't put it in the lightest of terms, she was right. He had been a terrible boyfriend as of late. "Okay, I'm sorry. I've been a jerk to you."

Gabriella's expression softened a bit, and she accepted Troy's apology. "I'm glad you finally clued in. Now come on, let's spend some quality time together."

Unfortunately, 'quality time' meant going to Gabriella's house and watching sappy chick flicks all night long. Troy knew he had to make it up to Gabriella for ignoring her so much, but did any guy really deserve this? He tried to block out the garbage Gabriella called 'really good movies' and focus on something else. Ryan drifted into his mind, and Troy couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving him at the school. He knew Ryan was excited for their rehearsal that day, and was counting on Troy to be there. And then Gabriella had to ruin things for him, and he still had the heart to cover for them. Ryan was truly an admirable person, and Troy felt like scum sitting next to the one who had shipwrecked their plans for that day. Gabriella let out a loud sob as they watched their third movie. Troy rolled his eyes and passed her another tissue. As he did, a loud ringing punctuated the tense scene.

"Turn that thing off." Gabriella growled. "It's getting to the good part."

Troy ignored Gabriella and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Troy! It's Ryan."

"Oh… Hey dad." Troy cast a nervous glance at Gabriella, who was staring lasers into him. "What's up?"

"Dad? It's Ryan…"

"You wanna talk about something? Sure, just a sec." Troy pulled his cell phone away from his mouth and looked at Gabriella. "Sorry, this sounds important. I'll only be a few minutes." Troy then excused himself from the room and resumed his conversation in the hallway. "Sorry about that. I didn't want her to know it was you."

"Are you still at Gabriella's?" Ryan asked incredulously. "It's already past nine!"

"I know!" Troy groaned. "She's making me sit through a chick flick marathon for being a bad boyfriend." He could almost hear Ryan flinch on the other end.

"Oooh, ouch. So I guess there's no chance of you coming by to catch the end of our rehearsal."

"What?!" Troy exclaimed. "You're still in rehearsal?!"

"Yeah. After you didn't show up, Ms. Darbus got kinda pissed off, and she went into a two-hour rant about how true artists never neglect the theatre. And then after that she's been working us to our limit as a reminder of what's really important in an actor's life."

This time it was Troy's turn to flinch. "Yikes. Women can get pretty scary sometimes."

Ryan groaned. "Tell me about it."

"Well…" Troy gave the living room door a tentative look. "Rehearsal's sounding pretty good given my current circumstances. I'll see if I can ditch Gabriella and swing by."

"Are you serious?" Ryan sounded absolutely delighted, which made Troy feel a lot better. "Okay, I'll let Darbus know so she can come out of Slave-Driver-Mode. See you later?"

Troy laughed. "Yeah, see ya later." He shut his cell phone and pocketed it. He reached for the doorknob and turned it.

"Well it's about time you—"

"Sorry Gabriella." Troy interrupted. "Family emergency. Gotta go!" And without waiting for her response, Troy shut the door and bolted out of the house. He jumped into his rickety pickup and sped off for the school.

Ryan slipped his cell phone into his bag, now sporting an impossibly wide smile.

"RYAN!" Ms. Darbus screeched. "Are we forgetting our lessons in discipline so soon?"

"No!" Ryan cried out. "Uh, um... Troy's coming!" Ryan hoped this would suffice his use of the 'cursed' cell phone. Ms. Darbus' eyebrows lifted.

"Is he? Well then…" She turned to face the stage where the whole cast was performing the finale for the millionth time. "Take five everyone!" There was a collective sigh of relief, and the auditorium shook as everyone collapsed in exhaustion. This was their first break in six hours. "We'll take it from the top again once Bolton shows up!" This was met with many groans of displeasure, and Ryan was pretty sure he could hear his sister sobbing. He grimaced and joined his friends onstage.

"Troy better have a _good_ reason for putting us through this." Sharpay growled, massaging her worn out feet.

"Trust me, he does." Ryan looked at his sister, who was looking a bit pathetic sprawled out on the floor whining about her aching muscles. He propped her up and sat her between his legs.

"Thanks Ryan." Sharpay said, as her brother massaged her neck. Soon, they had attracted other people's attention, and they weren't about to be left out. A line started forming in front of Sharpay as they formed a long train of massages. Sadly, Ryan was the caboose, and without someone to tend to his aching tendons. Suddenly, the auditorium doors opened, and everyone turned to look. They were afraid Ms. Darbus had already come back to resume their rehearsal, but to everyone immense relief, it was Troy. He was met with a chorus of greeting. He politely smiled back and waved. "Sorry I'm late guys."

"SHH! Not a word!" Sharpay hissed. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"It wont." Troy said, taking a seat behind Ryan. "Hey."

"Hey." Ryan replied tiredly.

Troy chuckled. "How did you get suckered into being the caboose?"

Ryan would have shrugged, but then his arms might have fallen off. Realizing this, Troy inched closer to Ryan and grasped his shoulders. He gasped.

"Uggh, my god Troy. You have no idea how good that feels."

Troy smirked. "You're way too soft for your own good, you know that? I bet you worked harder than anyone else here today."

Ryan didn't reply, as he basked in the relief Troy brought him. Suddenly, he was conscious of the fact Troy Bolton was practically straddling him and giving him a very good neck rub. He was reminded of that rehearsal weeks ago when he had help Troy with his Twist. Now the tables were turned on him and Troy was behind, massaging his body and whispering to him.

"I'm really really really really really really sorry about today." Troy said, feeling the need to emphasize it.

"That's okay." Ryan mumbled.

"And I'm super sorry about Gabriella. She had no right to—"

"Just keep massaging and we'll be good, how's that sound?" Ryan said. Troy laughed.

"Sounds good." Troy worked Ryan's shoulders, then slowly inched his hands to the base of his neck. Ryan let out a shuddering breath from the pleasure this brought him.

"Oh Troy…" Troy really needed to consider becoming a masseuse. His touch was so warm and strong, it drove Ryan up the wall.

Troy was really starting to get the hang of massaging, and he was really getting into it. Maybe _too_ into it. He squeezed Ryan noticeably harder, and he heard Ryan gasp loudly.

"Sorry, did that hurt?"

"No." Ryan said in a low growl. "Do it again."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?'

"That felt good." Ryan sighed. "Do it again." Troy shrugged and squeezed Ryan's shoulders again, forcing another moan from the blond. It felt good to be able to make it up to Ryan, and in a way that didn't involve relaying Kleenexes while watching chick flicks. Ryan made it quite clear that he was enjoying himself, oblivious to the fact his sister was sitting inches in front of him. Troy was taking in every word, and sigh, a groan, and was freakishly reminded of how he used to make out with Gabriella. _Used_ _to_ as in, it rarely happened anymore…

"As it should be. She's been so moody lately."

"Hmm? Did you say something Troy?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Shh." Troy said calmingly. "Just sit still and let me take your pain away."

Ryan swayed. Did Troy just say that? _That was HOT_. Ryan thought, clueless the fact it was a cheesy line Troy stole from one of the movies he watched with Gabriella. Ryan let out another sigh of pleasure, wishing this could last forever.

"Well I certainly hope I'm not interrupting." Ryan jumped and looked at Ms. Darbus. He then looked around. The massage train had broken up, and almost the whole cast was staring at him and Troy. His eyes widened and his face went scarlet. Despite this, Troy laughed.

"Give him a break guys, he's done the work for both of us all day." Ryan sighed. Leave it Troy to always know what to say. To his great dismay, Troy's hands lifted off his shoulders. He held out his hand to Ryan, he took it and heaved himself up.

"Well now that you've all had a chance to unwind, it's time to get back to rehearsing." Ms. Darbus said. She clapped her hands and got everyone in position for the opening number. Ryan gave Troy a grateful look, to which Troy replied to with a wink.

* * *

daang! 

at this rate, they'll be in bed together by next chapter! heh... heh... heh...

this chapter drew inspiration from 'The Road to HSM 2', in which they showed the cast in a long massage train that ended up being in the movie as part of the dance for 'What Time is It?' kinda cool, eh?

im really satisfied with this chapter as a whole. it was a bit hard to write, i was having trouble with how i wanted it to go. but it worked out in the end an im pleased with it :) i hop eyou all enjoyed it too:)


	7. Troy

i am SO SORRY this chapter was so delayed! i got a really bad case of writer's block. i wrote an entire chapter, and then i scrapped it, wrote a new one, then scrapped _that_ one, then i finally settled on this one.

in this chapter, a very important discovery is made. this one's actually kind of short, so to make up for that, im including TWO chapters in this update, woot!

so yeah, hope you enjoy.

**

* * *

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**-Chapter Seven-  
Troy**

Ryan lay motionless in his bed, staring at the dark ceiling. He didn't know what time it was, but it wasn't really important to him at the moment. He was suddenly aware of his breathing, which was rapid and deep, like he had just come out of a workout. What happened? What dream was so alarming to pull him out of his sleep so viciously? Suddenly, it came crashing onto him like a tsunami.

Troy.

The name seemed to echo infinitely in the recesses of Ryan's troubled mind. It was Troy who Ryan had been dreaming of. And quite frankly, it wasn't your everyday type of dream, if you catch my drift.

The dream came back to Ryan, piece by piece. He was… in his room? No, he was somewhere else. Was he naked? No, Ryan distinctly remembered wearing his green polo shirt. And he was with Troy. But what happened? The dream played in Ryan's head like an ancient film reel, with his activities with Troy being the parts blotted out by age and carelessness. Except, it had only happened scant minutes ago, and it was only the barrier to Ryan's subconscious that blurred his memory. Ryan's brow creased as he fought for a trace of the dream left somewhere in his head, but he found none. The only things left were the residual feelings of arousal evoked by some exotic fantasy. It frustrated Ryan to no end knowing that something hot went down in dreamland that night, and he didn't know what it was.

Ryan jerked in surprise when the abrasive buzz of his alarm filled the room. Ryan lifted himself up, his aching body screaming in pain, and dropped a hand onto the snooze button. His posture was hunched as he sat up in his bed, his muscles still feeling Ms. Darbus' wrath. He yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes, before throwing the sheets back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. His feet found his luxuriously soft slippers, and he stood up to prepare for the day. As he did, he tried to revisit his dream, but it seemed to grow only more vague the longer he was awake.

Ryan did find it a bit strange that such a dream involved another male, but it hadn't been the first. Back in seventh grade, Ryan had dreamt of a cute brunet kid in his class. And in grade ten, he had dreamt of the captain of the football team. He blamed puberty for those dreams, and didn't give them much thought afterward. But now, puberty had pretty much had its way with Ryan, and this dream seemed to linger in his mind instead of fading into nothingness. Maybe it was because of Troy. After all, he and Ryan were together almost every day now, rehearsing for the musical. With so much of his time spent with that boy, one simple dream was pretty normal. If only it was just a simple dream. No, it was _more_ than that!

Ryan then was then reminded of his close encounters with Troy, including last night when he was being massaged by him. Ryan wasn't even sure how things liked that happened, but they did… Ryan shook his head.

_No, I don't like Troy that way_. He thought. Even though he had been grinding with him that one time during rehearsal…

_No, we were Twisting._ And there was the fact that he winked at Troy during his audition.

_That was just an act! It fit with the song. _And the fact that he was moaning his lungs out when Troy was massaging him last night

_It felt GOOD! _Ryan folded his arms in defiance… but his resolve crumbled. He couldn't deny it… He was attracted to Troy Bolton.

"I've got the hots for Troy…" Ryan mumbled to himself, as if confirming it. He didn't quite believe himself at first, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Well, everything made sense except for the fact that he was a man. And Troy was a man. Did that mean he was gay? Ryan thought back to his… uneventful lovelife. On second thought, let's call that his _non-existent_ lovelife. Ryan found the fact surprising, even though he knew it all his life, but he had never really felt any attraction to anyone, girl or guy. Until he met Troy.

Ryan smacked himself in the head. "Great, I've been gay all my life and I only just found out. Good Job, Ryan. Absolutely brilliant. Fantastic. I'm talking to myself like Troy. Great…"

Troy.

The name rang clear through his thoughts again, and he had to stop himself to let everything digest. He was attracted to Troy. He, Ryan Evans, was attracted to him, Troy Bolton. _He _was attracted to _him_. Ryan said it in his head a million different ways, hoping one way would make it sound better than the last. It didn't help much. If anything, it only engraved in his mind the fact that he, a male, was attracted to him, another male. Ryan let out a drawn out groan.

"I'm gay… and I like Troy Bolton…" Today was not going to be easy… especially math class…

* * *

gasp

Ryan's gay, shocker!!!

heh heh...

okay, slightly off topic but ill say it anyways. I am COMPLETELY in love with the song Lucas sang for fox and the hound 'You Know I Will' **OMG! **it's such a cute song! i love it soooo much! and i command all of you two download it/buy it off iTunes, because you need to hear its greatness for yourselves.

i also bought a disney christmas CD thing off iTunes, and on it Lucas sings Let It Snow, another really cute song. so yeah, im completely in love with him right now.

anyways, enough of my ranting, go on and read the next chapter!


	8. A Twist in Fate

this chapter was actually kinda rushed, because i wanted it in the same update, but i still like it. everyone's on edge, and its funny.

things also get a bit tense between Troy and Ryan... in more ways than one...

**

* * *

**

**-Chapter Eight-  
A Twist in Fate**

"Troy, are you okay?" Troy jumped and turned to Chad, who was talking to him.

"Fine!" He said, his wide eyes and excitability suggesting otherwise.

"Mr. Bolton, Mr. Danforth!" Ms Darbus addressed them. "Is there something you would like to share to the class?"

"No Ms. Darbus." The two mumbled.

"THEN CAN IT!" Ms. Darbus screeched uncharacteristically before resuming her lecture. As of late, Ms. Darbus was becoming increasingly controlling over students, especially the ones who skipped out on rehearsals. It probably did wonders for her blood pressure.

Chad returned to his seat, not wanting to further induce Ms. Darbus' rage. He gave Troy a questioning glance. He had seemed pretty tense all morning, and he was biting his nails, something Troy only did when he was extremely nervous.

Troy groaned. Chad had noticed him biting his nails, which meant he knew something was up. What exactly had gotten Troy so worked up?

Ryan.

Troy was revisiting an old habit and had glanced up at Ryan that morning. However, instead of seeing him focused on his work, or listening to Ms. Darbus, his eyes were on Troy. And it freaked him out.

"No… That's not how it works." Troy mumbled to himself. "I'm supposed to stare at him. That's _my_ thing. He's not supposed to stare at me. He's not even supposed to notice me. He's supposed to work and be clueless to the fact that _I'm _staring at _him_. What if he knows now? What if he's known all along that I stare at him in class? What if he doesn't like it? Why do I even do it? Why—"

"MR. BOLTON!" Ms. Darbus shouted. "ARE YOU QUITE SURE THERE'S NOTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE CLASS."

Troy nodded feverishly. "Quite sure, ma'am. Sorry." Troy bowed his head in embarrassment. His eyes darted right, and he caught a glimpse of Ryan. _He's still staring…_

Ryan cursed inwardly. He had to stop looking at Troy. No doubt he had seen Ryan looking at him, and no doubt it was creeping him out. _At least he knows I felt now._ A grin crept onto his face. Revenge was sweet.

_But not as sweet as the scent of Troy… Wait, no stop! I'm not supposed to think that…_ _I should concentrate on Ms. Darbus' speech. What is she talking about? She's yelling at Troy again. Gosh, Troy's so cute when he's embarrassed. NO! Stop it Ryan! No more thoughts about Troy! Don't think about his beautiful blue eyes… or his really hot body… or his sexy voice…_

"NO!" At first, Ryan thought the whole class turned to face him, but really they were split between looking at him, Troy, and Ms. Darbus who all happened to scream out the same word at the same time.

Ms. Darbus was taking in having breaths. "EVANS! BOLTON! DETENTION!"

"Yes ma'am…"

The awkwardness didn't end there. All day long, Ryan made Troy the centre of his attention. The more he thought of him, the more he stared at him. The more he stared at him, the more tried not to stare at him. The more he tried not to stare at him, the more he thought of him. The more he thought of him…

Meanwhile, Troy was as rigid as a plank as felt the piercing stare of Ryan Evans on him all day long. This had driven them another two outbursts during the day, garnering them many questioning looks and whispers behind their backs. By the final bell, the two were more frazzled than Gabriella during exam week.

As Ryan made his way to the auditorium for detention, he made a point to go the long way around and avoid Troy. Unfortunately, Troy had been thinking the same thing. Rounding a corner, Ryan walked headlong into him.

"Ah! Oh… hey Troy." Ryan said awkwardly.

"H-hey Ryan." Troy replied in a strained voice. They stood facing each other for a few moments, saying nothing, before realizing why they had bumped into each other in the first place.

Ryan made a few indistinct noises before forgetting what it was he had to say. Troy jacked a thumb behind him to the drama wing.

"Shall we?"

"Yeah." Ryan replied, leading the way. The walk to the auditorium was awkward to say the least. While Troy and Ryan normally had lots to talk about, most of the walk was spent in silence. Ryan was at a loss for words. What could he say after putting Troy through such a humiliating day? Fortunately, Troy could think of something.

"I sure hope Ms. Darbus doesn't make us dance again. I'm still wiped out from yesterday."

Ryan couldn't think of a response quick enough, and just nodded, thus destroying any chances of a decent conversation. Thankfully, they were almost at their destination, and it wasn't long before they were before an irritated Ms. Darbus. They noticed a bucket at her feet, with two dirty rags hanging from the side.

"You'll be scrubbing the stage today." Their drama teacher announced, giving the bucket an acknowledging tap with her foot. The boys nodded, and Ms. Darbus left them to do their task. Troy hopped onto the stage and wrung out one of the rags. Ryan followed suit, and soon they were both on their knees trying to scrub out some very stubborn scuff marks. Conversation was scarce, so Troy brought in a stereo from the music room and popped in the CD for the musical. Ryan smiled.

"Good thinking. It'll make the time go by faster." It had been the first thing he had said to Troy since "yeah", and it felt good. Troy apparently liked the change too, and gave Ryan a smile. He picked up his rag again and got to work on his side of the stage.

"So…" Troy said. "You seemed pretty… distracted today."

Ryan cringed. "Did I? Probably just tired from yesterday."

"Yeah that wasn't fun." Troy said. They worked in silence for a while longer before Ryan spoke up again.

"By the way… thanks for the massage."

Troy chuckled. "You liked that, did you?" Ryan blushed, and he hoped Troy didn't see. He _had_ been pretty loud about it.

"Yeah…"

"Well it was the least I could do." Troy said. "I was pretty much a jerk to you."

"Oh no, it was fine." Ryan said. "I know how girls can get. I live with one." Troy laughed again.

"Yeah, I guess you do."

As Ryan wrung his cloth again, the opening song played on the stereo.

"You know." Troy said. "I still can't get the Twist down. Maybe you could help me?" Ryan looked at Troy with a raised eyebrow.

"Right now?"

"Oh, well if you don't want to…" Troy said, turning back his work.

"Oh, no I do!" Ryan said, maybe a little too enthusiastically. He dropped his cloth and picked himself up. Troy gave him a tentative look.

"You sure? 'Cause you don't have to."

"Come on!" Ryan said, pulling Troy up. He placed his hands on Troy's waist, just like last time, and coached him through the dance. As he did, Troy spoke again.

"Sorry if my staring at you bothered you." He said. Ryan shut his eyes. Troy noticed him staring earlier.

"Yeah, me too." Ryan said.

Troy sighed as Ryan moved his hips back and forth. "There's just something about you that catches my eye."

"Well I did lose a few pounds over Christmas." Ryan said, with a slight chuckle. Troy could feel it hit the back of his neck.

"Funny, Ryan." Troy said sarcastically. It might have been just him, but Troy could have sworn he felt Ryan inch closer. "What's your excuse?"

"Hm?"

"For staring at me."

Ryan snorted. "Who said I was staring at you?"

"You did!" Troy replied. "Like, 5 seconds ago."

"Sure I did." Ryan said, inching even closer. He paused to take in a deep breath. _Yep, he still smells like that…_

Troy could feel it as Ryan let out his deep breath. It tickled the hairs on his neck, leaving goosebumps. "You're in denial, Ryan." Troy grinned.

"Of what?" Ryan murmured back.

"I dunno. You tell me."

Troy and Ryan were now flush against each other, and this time Gabriella wasn't there to stop them. Troy didn't know if Ryan meant to or not, but his hands were slowly sliding lower.

"You're a great teacher." Troy said softly.

"You're a great student." Ryan replied, his mouth inches from Troy's ear. He gasped when Troy placed his hands on top his and inched them even lower.

"I had a dream last night." Troy whispered, and now Ryan was certain he was grinding into his crotch.

"Yeah?" Ryan whispered back. "And what happened?"

"I don't remember." Troy said, pulling Ryan's hands lower. "But you were wearing that shirt." Ryan was suddenly aware that he was wearing his green polo shirt.

"What a coincidence." Ryan said. "Because I had the exact same dream." His hands found the insides of Troy's thighs. He let out a small gasp.

"Wait." Troy said. "What say we ditch the stage and head somewhere a bit more private?"

Ryan chuckled. "Your place or mine?"

"Mine." Troy replied.

* * *

MUAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! 

HAHA!

...well really, isn't two chapters enough for you? you can wait a bit for what ever's coming next :)

here's a hint: it's already written...heh...hehh.

so, quality-wise, it could have been better, but i think it did all right moving the story along. hope you enjoyed those two chapters!

as for the next update, since the chapter's already written, i just need to fix a few things up and write a bit more. it shoul dbe up within a few days.

and i beat Tertiary Genesis reviewing By Starlight :D

... please don't hate me! i didnt even know i was the first one!

aaaaanyways, i shall see ya all later! and please review!

thanks!


	9. Afterglow

first off, a **big** thank you for all the reviews! its really nice to hear all your feedback. i was really self-conscious about last chapter, and im glad that you all liked it.

this chapter is a bit pointless in the sense that it does little to move the plot along. that said, i still really like it, since its exploding with Tryan fluffiness. we also get an insightful inside Troy's head as he contemplates things.

so, i hope you enjoy :)

**

* * *

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**-Chapter Ten-  
Afterglow**

Troy too had succumbed to sleep soon after Ryan did, and they found comfort in each other's arms. They slept peacefully in Troy's bed for the better part of the afternoon and well into the evening. Troy would thank his parents later when they didn't disturb them once. It was a law Troy had laid down: knock on the door. If no answer came, then Troy didn't want to be disturbed. And obviously Troy didn't want to be disturbed lying naked with his boyfriend of approximately five hours.

It was half past eight when Troy woke up. Ryan was still on top of him, so there wasn't much for him to do other than gently stroke the boy's head. As he did, he took this peaceful opportunity to contemplate the last twelve hours. Twelve hours ago, Troy was sitting in homeroom biting his nails off because Ryan was staring at him. Now, he was laying in bed with him, covered in his sweat. And other fluids. In between was a whirlwind of emotions and mishaps, and grouchy senior citizens. Maybe they were going about this a little quickly, but Troy had no regrets, and he hoped that Ryan didn't. As long as they trusted each other, everything would be fine. And of course they trusted each other. They had to. They were the two lead roles in the play, and trust was vital between actors, especially those who worked together as much as they did. This brought him peace of mind, but it would be shattered moments later when another fact of truth hit him.

"I'm gay… and I'm going out with Ryan Evans…" Life from then on was not going to be easy, especially with all the kids at school. Even if he and Ryan kept it a secret, word would probably get out that something was going on between them. If it already hadn't. And nothing went against the Status Quo more than a gay relationship. No one at school would understand. Everyone would be so immature about it. They would get scared, and they would judge, and discriminate, and ostracize! Ryan and Troy faced becoming outcasts for their decision. It was a hefty price to pay, especially in the face of their peers, but it was one Troy was willing to pay. If it meant sex with Ryan, he'd gladly pay anything!

"Besides, we're Troy Bolton and Ryan Evans!" Troy assured himself. "We're _only_ the most popular guys at school."

"Got that right." Ryan mumbled. Troy gasped at the sound of the blond boy waking up. He didn't move much, apparently comfortable sprawled out on Troy's body, but he yawned and slowly blinked his eyes open. Troy smiled.

"Have a good sleep?"

Ryan took in a deep breath. "It was wonderful. Don't think I ever had such a lovely sleep."

"Why's that?" Troy asked, caressing Ryan's back.

"Because I was with you." Ryan answered. He wrapped his arms around Troy and squeezed him. "As long as I'm with you, I'll always be happy."

"That's good to hear." Troy said. He wrapped his arms around Ryan as well. They embraced each other for a good long while, loving the moment. Troy chuckled.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Just thinking to myself how lucky I am."

Ryan smiled. "That's the cutest thing you've ever said to me. Which movie did you steal it from?"

"Ha ha Ryan." Troy said, rolling his eyes. "But I really am the luckiest guy alive to have you."

Ryan's heart melted. Troy really meant it, and it was so sweet of him to say it.

"You're intelligent, funny, incredibly talented, devilishly handsome, and you've got the biggest dick ever."

"Why um… thank you." Ryan said, a blush rising to his face. "And you. You're…"

"Yes?" Troy said expectantly.

"Well, you're Troy Bolton! That itself makes me the luckiest guy alive!" Troy smiled.

"I guess it does." The two held on to each other even longer, breathing in the powerful scent their bodies created. Suddenly, there was a knock on Troy's door.

"Trooy!" Called Mrs. Bolton. Ryan ducked his head under the sheets so only Troy could be seen.

"Yeah mom? What is it?" He called out, his voice cracking.

"You've been in there all afternoon, are you feeling all right?" The doorknob turned and Troy's mother walked into the room. One look at Troy and she went into Obsessive-Mother-Mode. "Oh my goodness Troy you look terrible!" She held a hand to his forehead. "You're steaming hot, you must be running a fever!"

Ryan tried his very best to contain his snickering as Mrs. Bolton fretted over Troy, despite his protests. She thought he was sick, but all he had was a good case of horny, thanks to Ryan. It was rather awkward hiding under Troy's blanket. He hoped he didn't make Troy look fat. He could hear the muffled voices of Troy and his mother arguing over his health, and he was getting a bit bored. An idea came to Ryan, and a grin spread across his face as he took a hand and ran it down Troy's stomach. He heard him gasp loudly, sending his mother into a frenzy.

"What is it Troy? Is it the fever? Are you going to throw up? Tell me darling!"

"I'm fine, mom!" Troy groaned, elbowing Ryan in the head. But Ryan wasn't going to stop. His hands crawled up Troy's side, tickling him softly. He jerked his body.

"What's wrong honey? Are you in pain?"

"No." Troy strained the word as he tried to swat Ryan away. Ryan moved his hand, but he was still going to have his fun. Biting his lip, he held in his laughter as held his hand over Troy's ass. With a satisfying slap, Troy yelped in pain.

"That's it!" Mrs. Bolton said. "I'm getting you some Tylenol. You stay right here and don't move!" She then hurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. Troy breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled the sheets down.

"Ryan!" He barked. "You're an idiot!"

Ryan looked up at Troy and gave him an angelic smile. "Sorry."

"See if you'll ever have sex with me again." Troy huffed. Ryan laughed.

"Hah, yeah right. There's no way you'd ever say no."

Troy scowled. "Says who?"

"You!" Ryan said. "'Oh Ryan! Oh, oh Ryan! Yes Ryan! Harder Ryan!'" This time it was Troy's turn to blush.

"I didn't say that!"

"Oh yes you did!" Ryan retorted, grinning madly. "You should hear yourself some time. You make enough noise to wake the dead!" Troy flushed a deeper shade of red.

"Do not!" Ryan cupped Troy's burning face and placed a kiss on his lips.

"That's okay. I love it when you call out my name." Troy's cheeks slowly regained their normal colour as Ryan kissed him. Troy gently caressed Ryan's body, slowly making his way down his back. Then, he pulled his hand back and smacked Ryan's ass.

"YEOWCH! That really _does_ hurt!!

* * *

and so ends chapter 10.

Ryan's such a tease :P

thanks again to all you wonderful people who are reading this story! an extra big thanks to Tertiary Genesis for promoting my work so much! be sure to check out his stories too, they're crazy-good. if you're looking for more good Tryan to read (and they are pretty scarce these days), then check out my profile for my favourites, as well as tG's.

hope you all enjoyed that chapter. chapter 12 is in the works already, so 11 will be up soon.

thanks for reading!


	10. Happy Anniversary

hey all!

i didn't really want to post up this chapter so soon, but i'll be busy for a while, so i'll give this to you guys to tide you over til i finish chapter 12. this is also probably my favourite chapter so far, so i was really excited to post it.

this chapter takes a break from the fluffiness, but rest assured there's still plenty of cute in it, its just mixed in with a lot of more serious and darker emotions. um, i dont want to spoil anything else, so ill just let you guys read.

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**-Chapter Eleven-  
Happy Anniversary**

Troy and Ryan both agreed on keeping their relationship under wraps, at least for the time being. They also made a pact to avoid eye contact during class, if at all possible. They knew had set themselves some pretty tough tasks, but they had to do it. If there was any chance of them staying together without having the entire school breathing down their necks, they would have to act like nothing more than really good friends. And they had almost crossed that line, as their friends were starting to get suspicious. They couldn't be discovered. Not by anyone, and especially not Gabriella.

"Oh yeah. What about that girlfriend of yours?" Ryan asked one day afterschool, sitting in Troy's room.

Troy winced. "Yeah… I forgot about her. I'm really sorry Ryan. I really got caught up in the moment."

But Ryan wasn't about to hold any grudges. "Look, I was the one who was making moves on you. And I could have easily said no when you asked me."

Troy snickered. "I guess we were both a little preoccupied." He sat Ryan on his lap and placed a kiss on his golden locks. "But I'll break it off with Gabriella as soon as I can."

Ryan pulled away. "No don't!" Troy responded with a confused frown.

"What? Why Ryan? Don't you… don't you want this?" Troy looked at Ryan solemnly, but Ryan gave him a reassuring smile.

"Of course I do." He said, wrapping his arms around Troy again. "But if you break up with Gabriella right now, she'll get even_ more_ suspicious of us. She's already seen more than should have."

Troy squeezed Ryan tightly. "But it's you I want. Not her."

"I know Troy… I don't like it either… but we have to pretend we're still just friends. To the school, you're still going out with her."

Troy would have liked nothing more than to say 'to hell with the rest of the school', but he knew he couldn't. Unfortunately, they were still very much dependant on their image toward their peers. That's how it was in high school. Without the support of their peers, and worse yet their acceptance, Troy and Ryan would have to carry the burden of being different all by themselves. Troy couldn't do that to Ryan. He wouldn't.

"Okay." Troy sighed. "I'll do it, for you."

"Hey." Ryan said. "You're not in this alone. I'll be right here by your side, okay? We're gonna do it for us." Troy lifted Ryan's head up and placed a soft kiss on his warm lips.

"Thank you, Ryan." He held Ryan tightly, for he didn't know when he could hold him again. "I really am the luckiest man in the world."

-o-O-O-O-o-

Their first week was a bumpy one. Concentrating on schoolwork was pretty much out of the question, and they fought with all their might to just keep their heads down and their eyes away. They grabbed every opportunity they could, in the bathrooms at lunch, backstage during rehearsal. They just wanted to be with each other; to hold each other, to kiss each other, to be able show their love. Their grades fell, and the teachers got angry. Detentions ensued, but it was just another excuse to be together. It was almost like an adventure for them. Every day posed new challenges, new threats, and they faced them without fear. They were pretty sure that no one was suspecting anything, and everything went as usual. However, someone _was_ suspecting something, and it was the very last person they wanted to…

Friday marked Troy and Ryan's one week anniversary, and Ryan wanted to surprise Troy with a CD he had wanted for ages. There was only one thing Ryan forgot. Friday also marked Troy and Gabriella's one year anniversary. He came skipping down the hall to Troy's locker when he met a horrifying sight. Gabriella had Troy pinned to the locker, savagely making out with him. Ryan's eyes went wide in disgust, and he suddenly had the urge to vomit. He dropped Troy's CD and tore down the hall to the nearest bathroom, tears spilling from his eyes.

Troy did not know what was happening. One minute, he was taking his History textbook off a shelf in his locker, the next Gabriella was on top of him, ripping at his clothes and swallowing his face. Troy pushed Gabriella away in horror.

"What was _that?!_" Troy spat.

Gabriella gave Troy a devilish smile. "Happy anniversary, Troy. Didn't forget, did you?" Troy's face was hot with anger.

"What makes you think you can do something like that?!" He shouted.

"Hello!" Gabriella said. "I'm _only_ your girlfriend! Can't a girl show her man how much she loves him?"

"If you really loved me, you'd give me some room to breathe!"

"Why?! So you can run off to Ryan?" Gabriella shrilled.

Troy did not respond right away to this, but his glare intensified. "Leave him out of his. He's got nothing to do with it."

Gabriella let out a hollow laugh. "Hah! What kind of fool do you take me for, Troy?" She said. "You don't think I'd notice that my boyfriend spends every waking moment with someone else?"

"I don't have to justify my actions." Troy yelled. "When have I ever given you reason to not trust me?!"

"When you signed onto the musical with Ryan!" Gabriella yelled back.

"LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" Troy shouted, enraged. His breaths came out in heaves as his glare bore holes through Gabriella. She looked back at him with an expression of disbelief, and shook her head.

"You've changed, Troy."

"Me? ME?" Troy exclaimed. "You're putting all the blame on _me?_ This is your fault!" He declared angrily.

She shook her head again. "Consider yourself dumped." And she spun around as Troy shouted something else at her. As she stalked away, there was a crack under her foot. She looked down and lifted it, to see a broken CD case. On it was a yellow Post-It note.

_Happy one-week, Troy! Love, Ryan._

She picked it up and faced Troy again. "Here's the reason that I can't trust you!" She screamed, hurling the shattered jewel case at him. She then sprinted away. Troy looked at the CD Gabriella had just thrown at him. It was Lucas Grabeel's latest album, the one he had wanted since it came out two months before. He read the sticky note on the front, written in Ryan's neat printing and adorned with a simple heart. A tear rolled down Troy's face. He clutched Ryan's gift close to his heart as he walked toward the bathroom. Troy had to find him, and that bathroom had become a bit of a sanctuary for both of them. He jogged down the hall and pushed through the door into the boy's washroom. He could hear someone sobbing in one of the stalls, the one that had a nest of toilet paper strewn about it. Troy quickly made his way over and swung the door open. He gasped when he saw Ryan was hunched over the toilet, tears leaking down his face. He bent down to encase him in his arms.

"Oh my god, Ryan! I'm so sorry." Troy said. Ryan's shirt was stained with vomit, but Troy didn't care. He squeezed Ryan as tight as he could without hurting him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Ryan couldn't say anything. He sniffled and hiccupped uncontrollably, his eyes pouring out hot tears. Troy gently rubbed Ryan's back in an effort to comfort him, whispering an endless string of apologies. Ryan remained silent, aside from his sobs. Troy continued to hold onto him, sitting on the dirty bathroom floor with him, whispering to him. Slowly, Ryan started to calm down.

"Oh Troy…" Was the first thing he could say. "When I saw you with her… I—"

"Shhh…" Troy said. "It's okay now. I broke up with her." Ryan started to cry softly again.

"Do you still like me then?"

"What?" Troy said. "Of course I do! I always have Ryan! Always!"

Ryan sniffed. "Okay…I just thought maybe you and Gabriella…"

"Gabriella means nothing to me anymore." Troy said. "That sorry bitch can die for all I care." His anger toward her flared up briefly before melting away again. Ryan buried his face into Troy's chest.

"So much for our plan." He said spitefully.

"Forget the plan." Troy said. Ryan looked up at him.

"But Troy!"

"No 'buts' Ryan." Troy said firmly. "Gabriella knows now, and by tomorrow the whole school will too. And I couldn't really give a damn, because you know what? I love you Ryan Evans, and I don't care what anybody says!"

Ryan's face lit up when he heard what Troy had just said. No one had ever said that to him before, ever. He couldn't even remember hearing it from Sharpay or his parents, and Troy had just said it right then and there. And Ryan knew in his heart tat Troy meant it with all his being. Ryan willed himself to not cry again, but it was useless. Troy had just made him the happiest he had been his entire life.

"Oh Troy." Ryan sobbed. "I love you too." He threw his arms around Troy's neck and kissed him passionately on the lips. Troy willingly let Ryan kiss him, and returned it, still holding him tight. This kiss was completely opposite of his 'kiss' with Gabriella. He and Ryan shared a powerful bond, a mutual trust for each other, and it fueled their passion. Gabriella had no concept of this, and took things into her own hands. The end result was a revolting act of savagery and violation. Troy was so glad to be free of her now, and overjoyed beyond belief that now he and Ryan were together.

Eventually, they broke apart, and Troy lifted them from the cold tile floor. He helped Ryan wash up at the sink, then lifted him up and carried him to his car.

"Happy one-week Ryan." He said, smiling down at him.

"Yeah, happy one-week." Ryan said back. "Here's to many more to come." And he lifted his head to kiss Troy softly on the lips again.

* * *

omg... omg omg, so cute!

i just love making Troy that knight in shining armour, he fits the part really well.

i dont realy know what my problem is with this story, but i re-write so much of it, all the leftovers could be their own story. im serious! i keep writing things, then rethinking them, and scrapping them, and rewriting them. this chapter originally went in a whole other direction, but i really like the changes i made. i think its really really romantic.

and even in spite of the fact that i change things so much, i still pride myself in updating fairly frequently. how do i do it? well, i knida place it at the top of my priority list, which means important things like school get pushed aside... i dont' really reccomend anyone do that... im just really bad like that...

cant thank you guys enough for all your kind reviews! its your support that keeps me going!

ive got a hectic weekend ahead of me, and the beginning of next week isn't looking so bright either, so im not sure when i can get chapter 12 up. ill work on it more tonight before i go to bed and hope i can find enough time between work and other crap.

so yeah, that's all for now. thanks for reading!


	11. Dirty Little Secret

ooh ooh oooh!

how long do you think it took Gabriella to tell the entire East High student body that her ex-bf is a boy-loving slut? An hour? 5 minutes? come on, place your bets!

ha, just kidding. anyways, im really glad i had this chance to work on the story. although tomorrow looks like hell. i have lifeguard class from 3-5, then work from 5-12. hopefully i dont die of exhaustion.

i REALLY like this chapter :P Troy and Ryan know they have to play it cool, but when they're together the thermostat's cranked to 11. things get pretty raunchy in detention today, and this time they have an audience.. oooohhhh.

**

* * *

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**-Chapter Twelve-  
Dirty Little Secret**

Troy's mind filled with dread as he walked across the student parking lot the next day. He had broken his promise to Ryan. He didn't go through with their plan, and now the whole school knew about them. As he reached the end of the parking lot, Sharpay's pink Corvette screeched into the parking lot. He smiled when he saw Ryan climb out of the car. His sister said her goodbye before running off to class without him. Ryan instead made his way over to Troy.

"Hey Troy." He chirped, taking Troy's hand and walking with him to the school's entrance.

"Hi Ryan." Troy tried to sound cheerful, but it was somehow lost in his unenthusiastic response. Ryan stopped Troy and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.

Troy shook his head. "It's nothing."

Ryan gave him a _yeah right_ look. "Troy, not only am I your boyfriend, but I'm your opposite role in the play. I know when you're lying." Troy managed a grin. It was true, there was no way Ryan was going to fall for anything.

"Okay okay Mr. Smarty." Troy said. "I'm just upset that I broke my promise to you."

"What promise?"

"Y'know. About me pretending to go out with Gabriella. Now the whole school's gonna know!"

Ryan gave Troy a doubting look. "I thought you said you didn't care about that."

Troy hugged Ryan. "Of course I don't. I would gladly face anything to be with you. I just didn't want to put you through it too. You don't deserve it."

Ryan smiled and returned the hug. "Troy, stop trying to be the hero. I already told you, you're not in this alone, okay? Whatever you're gonna face, I want to be right here beside you. We'll do it together, okay?"

Troy squeezed Ryan. "Thanks Ryan." They walked together to the front of the school, not caring if anybody saw them. Fortunately, they were running a bit late, and almost everyone was already heading to class. However, as they reached the top of the steps, they were literally dragged apart by someone.

"Are you two _insane?"_ Hissed an unknown voice. Troy was dragged inside, and he caught a glimpse of Ryan being pulled in by someone in a plaid skirt. They were pulled into a little alcove in the foyer, where Troy found their captives to be Chad and Taylor.

"Guys, _what_ is going on?" Troy asked, grabbing Ryan's hand again.

"Gabriella told us." Taylor said.

"Yeah, no kidding." Ryan said sarcastically. "But why don't you explain why you're holding Troy and I hostage."

"Because you can't be seen together!" Chad exclaimed.

Troy gave Chad a menacing look and took a step forward. "Look, if you have a problem with us, then that's great. But I couldn't really care less what you or anybody else thinks."

"Troy, you don't get it!" Taylor said. "Nobody else knows about you two!"

Both Ryan and Troy gave her a stupefied look. "What? How is that even possible?" Troy asked. "Gabriella should have told the whole school by now!"

"We swore her to secrecy." Taylor said. "She came to us first, and we forbade her to tell anyone else."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "And she actually listened?"

"What did you threaten her with? Death?" Troy asked.

Taylor gave the boys a devious smile. "You two aren't the only ones harboring a big secret."

Troy and Ryan nodded. "So… are you guys okay with it?" Troy asked.

"Well I was shocked at first, I'll be honest." Chad said. "But it's not like you guys were completely discreet about it. Other people use the bathroom besides you guys, I hope you know."

The two boys blushed.

"And even before that, it's not like we couldn't see you two staring at each other in class." Taylor added.

"Does anybody else know?" Ryan asked.

"Well, none of us have said anything." Chad said. "So we hope that's a no."

"But you two _can't_ be seen together." Taylor said anxiously. "Not everyone is going to take it as well as us."

Ryan nodded. "We were shooting for that… but it kinda fell apart yesterday."

"But we won't be having that problem again, I can guarantee it." Troy said maliciously. "So, we'll be careful." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, we're late for class." Taylor said. "So we'd better go!" She and Chad waved goodbye and ran off to class.

Troy and Ryan slowly stepped out of the alcove, painfully separating their hands.

"This isn't going to be easy." Ryan said, shoving his hand in his pocket, to resist the temptation of grabbing Troy's again.

"Well…" Troy said looking around. The foyer was empty, as well as the halls. "No one's around to see us right now…" He took an arm and wrapped it around Ryan's waist. He brought the boy close to him and smiled. "Why don't be spontaneous?"

Ryan grinned and wrapped his own arm around Troy. "I like the sound of that." The two leaned in for a short kiss before slowly walking to class.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy and Ryan knew Gabriella would have wanted nothing more than to stand atop her desk and proclaim for the whole class to hear that they were gay and going out with each other, but apparently she was hiding a dirty little secret that could _not_ get out. It was just another thing to add to the laundry list of reasons Troy hated her now. Ryan looked up from his homework, which was actually just a blank piece of paper, to catch a glimpse of Troy. Troy was already looking in Ryan's direction, and they two blushed as they made eye contact. They could hear Taylor hissing in warning, and Gabriella grumbling in discontent. The two boys laughed quietly to themselves. With Troy and Ryan sneaking glances at each other, Chad and Taylor keeping watch over them , and Gabriella jealously watching from afar, no one would be getting any work done.

"Mr. Evans, back to work please." Their math teacher said testily.

"Yes ma'am, sorry." Ryan said, turning back to his work.

"Ms. Montez, you too."

Gabriella glared at Troy before looking down at her paper. Troy, on the other hand, kept staring, unconsciously scribbling hearts all over his page.

"Troy!" Chad hissed.

"Mr. Danforth!" Their teacher called. "No talking in class."

"Sorry ma'am." Chad mumbled, lowering his eyes. Ryan's concentration crumbled again and he turned his eyes to Troy, trying to keep his head still. Seeing Ryan looking at him, Troy winked and blew him a kiss.

"Troy!" Taylor whispered, crumpling her paper and hurling at Troy's head.

"Ms. McKessie! Mr. Bolton! Something you'd like to share with the class?" Their math teacher fumed.

"No ma'am." The two said. Troy snorted in an effort to stifle his laughter while Taylor said a silent curse to the heavens. Just to bug everyone, Ryan stood up and made his way to the pencil sharpener, making a detour at Troy's desk. As he passed, he ran his hand through Troy's hair and ruffled it before passing on and sharpening his pencil. Chad and Taylor jumped out of their desks, growling indistinct words as Gabriella threw her arms in the air and cried out in frustration. This was the last straw.

"BOLTON! EVANS! MCKESSIE! DANFORTH! MONTEZ! **DETENTION!**" Their teacher screeched, snapping her pencil in half. The five bowed their heads.

"Yes ma'am…"

The rest of the class murmured in laughter as the bell rang and the five miscreants headed for the detention room. Troy and Ryan discreetly held hands as they pushed through the dense crowds, Chad and Taylor hounding on them, and a peeved Gabriella not far behind. Down the science hall and into a chemistry classroom the five marched, locking the door behind them. Ryan slipped a piece of paper off the unoccupied teacher's desk while Troy got some tape.

"_What _are you boys _doing_?" Taylor asked incredulously.

"Blocking the window." Ryan said with a smirk. He held up the piece of paper over the small rectangular window as Troy fastened it with plenty of tape.

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me." Gabriella groaned, slapping her forehead. Once the door was taken care of, Ryan and Troy got to work drawing the shades over the window.

"Let's keep it PG, boys." Taylor sighed, taking a seat in an empty desk and pulling out her math homework.

"We can't make any promises." Troy said fiendishly.

"I hate you Troy Bolton." Gabriella declared.

Troy just looked at Gabriella contemptuously before pulling Ryan in close and kissing him. He ran his hands all over Ryan's body, as Ryan moaned softly.

"Oh Trooyy." Ryan purred. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards. He was going to make this good. "Mmmm, oh Troy… Yeah babe…" Gabriella was going to taste the bitterness of revenge.

"Yeah Ryan." Troy murmured. "You like that?" He caressed Ryan's ass, and slowly guided him toward one of the desks. Ryan slowly started to lean back on it, and soon Troy was on top of him, straddling him and passionately making out with him.

Gabriella was seething with rage. "Taylor do something!" She cried.

"SHH!" Taylor said. She was going to finish her homework if it was the last thing she did. Chad was not even worth bothering, as he had his back turned to the scene and his blaring iPod drowning out any outside noise. Gabriella whined.

"I hate you, Troy Bolton. You worthless piece of shit!"

"Did you hear something Troy?" Ryan asked in a breathless voice. Now he was on top of Troy.

"Baby all I can hear is you." Troy replied, sealing his mouth over Ryan's again. "Ah, oh Ryan." Ryan had slinked his hands inside of Troy's shirt. His fingers were cold, and the sensation sent shivers all over Troy's body.

"Ryan…" Gabriella growled. "How dare you take him away from me." Ryan lifted his head to look at her for the first time since their detention started.

"You're just jealous 'cause he'd never let you do this." Gabriella didn't know what Ryan did, but Troy gasped loudly, and slowly let out the breath in a long moan of rapturous bliss. It outraged Gabriella that Ryan was able to do that to Troy, and she wasn't.

"Oh lord, Ryan." Troy rasped. He wrapped his arms around Ryan's neck and pulled his face down again. Ryan's mouth slowly trailed from Troy's lips to his cheek, then down his jawline to his neck. "Damn Ryan… oh, you're so hot."

Tears started to streak Gabriella's face as she helplessly watched Ryan ravage the man she was supposed to be celebrating her anniversary with. Troy and Ryan were obviously aware of this fact, and it only urged them on. Taylor sighed.

"Gabriella, so being so overdramatic."

"Overdramatic?!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Can you _not_ see Ryan on top of Troy like some sort of animal?!"

"They're just doing it to get even with you." Taylor said, as if Troy and Ryan were just sticking their tongues at her, instead of inside each other's mouths. "Why don't you do some homework with me?"

"What, with Faggot McFag and his stupid boyfriend over there skanking the place up?" Gabriella spat.

"Gabriella, there's no reason to be mean." Taylor said. "Now come on. This will help us for the next Scholastic Decathlon." She pointed out the homework she was doing and pulled Gabriella into the seat beside her. Gabriella screamed irately before sitting down and trying to help Taylor with their math. She tried to focus on all the information Taylor was giving her, but it grew increasingly difficult with Troy screaming Ryan's name in the background. Troy and Ryan shared a maniacal grin as they sought vengeance. Revenge was sweet.

"But not as sweet as you, baby."

"I HATE you Troy Bolton!"

* * *

HAHAHAHAHA... 

oh i LOVE torturing Gabriella! she's so helpless to all the horrors she's witnessing! i love it so much. Troy and Ryan can do whatever they want, and Gabriella can't do ANYTHING unless she wants Taylor to spill the beans on her dirty little secret :P :P :P so priceless.

yeah, sorry, the gabi-bashing is back in full swing for those who dont like it... sorry...

anyways, i hope you all liekd that chapter! thanks for all the reviews last chapter, keep them coming

cya


	12. Simple Boys

**EDIT:** I've added about 800 words to this chapter's ending, since it was so short before

**WARNING:** Mild sex.

* * *

Hi everyone! 

first off, I'd like to apologize for just disappearing off the face of the planet like that. i swear it wont happen again.

the holidays were just not a good time for writing. i was COMPLETELY blocked, i couldn't write anything. and i was working my tail off at the grocery store, scanning more turkeys than ive ever seen in my life. then to top it all off there's christmas shopping (which i actually didn't get to do much of), visiting people, and all that other fun holiday stuff.

santa was good to me this year. he got me a Hairspray poster, which has a full body shot of Zac Efron on it (swoon). he's on like, 5 different posters in my room :P Santa also got me TONS of HSM stuff.

as a present to myself, i bought HSM 2 and watched it a few hours ago. OMG! i forgot how AMAZING IT WAS!!! OMG! and i hate to say this, but I'm such a Troyella fan now after watching it. i alos LOVED Ryan in it.. he was just... amazing... and cute... omg, that movie made me almost cry!

so yeah, that was my holiday. i still have another week of it, but hopefully it will be quieter now that christmas is over.

about this chapter. i had a lot of trouble writing it, but i managed to whip up something good. we get to see how Gabriella's been coping with all the hullabaloo (love that word) going on, among other things. i wont hold you up any longer, time for you to reeaad!

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**-Chapter Thirteen-  
Simple Boys**

The weeks wore on, and Troy and Ryan were the happiest they could be.They had each other, and they would keep that way for as long as they could. Sadly, not everyone as thrilled as they were on the matter. While they weren't as mean to Gabriella as they were before, she still felt hurt every time she saw them together. She tried to ignore it. She tried to block out their whispered conversations in class. She tried to avoid them in the halls. She even moved her locker because she could stand being so close to them. But it was useless. No matter how much she concentrated on her work, she could still hear Troy whispering to Ryan they way he did with her. It felt like all her insides were crumbling as she clung to every word. It felt like someone was slowly closing their hands around her throat. It was so unbearable for her. She hated Troy so much for it. She loathed him with every fibre in her being. And yet, she still loved him.

What was once so clear was now a muddle of uncertainties. Once upon a time there was Troy and Gabriella. Now there was Troy and Ryan, and Gabriella left stranded on the sidelines. An entire year of bliss had twisted into torture in one week flat. What was happening? What had already happened? Nothing made sense to Gabriella anymore. She couldn't think anything through. She could only feel hurt. She could only the emptiness that was once full of love. She could feel all the hate in the world for Troy, and she would still love him…

Troy stared at Taylor, eyes wide in disbelief. "…She said _that?_"

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "Yup, that's what she said."

"What a load of bull!" Troy cried, making that frustrated face Ryan loved. "I think the theatre's had a bad influence on her."

"You're telling me." Ryan said.

"I have to talk to her." Troy said. His expression was dark as he stormed off.

"Watch out everyone!" Ryan called out. "Troy's in _Bet-On-It_-mode!"

Taylor playfully punched Ryan in the arm and pulled him away. "C'mon, you goof."

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy found Gabriella at her locker, timidly putting her chemistry textbook away. He walked over to her until he was towering over her. She caught a glimpse of his new plaid slip-on shoes and looked up.

"Those are nice." She said sarcastically. "Did your _boyfriend_ get those for you or has he already turned you into a fashion-loving fag?"

"You're just jealous I dress better than you without even trying." Troy spat back. "Taylor told me your little sob story. Your act was worse than Sharpay's."

"It wasn't an act!" Gabriella gasped, standing up swiftly. Even in heels she was dwarfed by Troy. "I meant what I said! You have no idea what I'm going through!"

"What _you're_ going through?!" Troy cried. "What about Ryan? What about _me_?"

"Yes, Troy, that's all it ever is! You you you!" Gabriella's hand shook as she pointed a finger at Troy's face.

"Oh please." Troy said, laughing a little. "Don't even get me _started_. Who was the one hanging off me twenty-four-seven? You! Who was the one being a total bitch to Ryan for no reason? _You!_"

"WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GOING OUT WITH ME?" Gabriella screamed. "_YOU!"_

Troy shook his head. "Well gee… wonder what went wrong there… Oh, I know! My girlfriend turned into a psychopath!"

"And then my boyfriend turned into a backstabbing two-timing snake!" Gabriella's heels clicked as she stomped her feet in fury. The pencil she had been holding was now snapped in two.

"Wow Gabriella, you're turning into a regular Sharpay. Maybe you and her should get together."

"HA HA HA! So funny!" Gabriella said loudly. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

"And you're a drama queen. Please, _all that you've been through?_ You've been through _nothing!_ Especially compared to what you've put Ryan and I through!"

Gabriella stared hard at Troy through hating eyes. Her lips were thin, and it looked like she was suppressing the urge to bite Troy's head off. "You… you!..."

"I?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head, a hot tear trickling down her cheek. "You boys are so thick…" The hate slowly melted from her face, and she looked imploringly at Troy. "I loved you Troy…"

"Yeah?" Troy asked. "Good to know, 'cause you had a shitty way of showing it." His face showed no remorse. He didn't have any for Gabriella. She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve _anything_. Gabriella turned around, and she sobbed quietly as she ran away from Troy. His eyes followed her down the hall and out the door.

"Good riddance." Troy shook his head and turned around. He was going to find Ryan and tell him how much he loved him.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan had brought Troy home with him that day. They didn't waste anytime getting to his room and bolting the door shut. The days were long and torturous when they were separated. Five minutes here and there just didn't cut it anymore. They had to spend every minute together, or they would surely go insane.

Troy had lain Ryan on the bed, laying next to him and propping himself up on an elbow. With his free hand, he stroked Ryan's beautiful face, and ran his fingers through his soft blonde hair. His luminescent skin was warm with a faint blush, and his crystal blue eyes shone with joy. Ryan looked absolutely radiant. Troy sighed.

"Tell me Ryan. Are you an angel?"

Ryan smiled. "If I am, surely you must be a god."

"Yes, I am Troy, the God of Hotness." Troy said, giving Ryan a cheesy grin. Ryan lifted a hand to Troy's face and slowly brought it to his own. Their hot breath collided as they closed the gap between them. Their lips touched and the fireworks started. Troy was straddling Ryan's crotch, and grinding against it as he kissed him. Ryan started moaning, and he could feel something stirring in Troy's pants. His hands went down to pull of his belt when suddenly everything was interrupted. The two boys stopped mid-kiss and froze. In the silence, a soft grumble emanated from Troy's stomach. As if in response, Ryan's stomach growled too.

"Ryan, when did we last eat?" Troy asked, pulling himself up.

"Um… well we spent lunchtime in the janitor's closet again… breakfast I guess."

Troy's brow furrowed. "Sex can wait. I need to eat right _now_."

Ryan nodded, letting Troy heave him up. "Yeah, let's eat." Troy made to hop off the bed but Ryan stopped him.

"Ryan come on, I'm starving." Troy groaned.

"Then why waste your energy?" Ryan asked with a smirk. Troy gave him a perplexed look, but Ryan didn't bother to explain as he reached over to his nightstand to pick up a phone. "Hello Jeeves? Yes, I'd like some food brought up." Ryan paused to hear what Jeeves had to say before pulling the phone away and looking to Troy.

"What do you want?"

Troy shrugged. "Anything."

"Everything." Ryan said into the receiver. "Oh. And bring up some strawberries and whipped cream for desert." Ryan winked at Troy and hung up the phone.

Troy stared at Ryan. "You actually have a butler named Jeeves?"

"No." Ryan said. "I don't actually know what his name is." Troy laughed and rolled onto the bed again.

"What are the strawberries for?" Troy asked.

Ryan leaned over Troy's head and grinned. "It's a surprise." He lowered his head and kissed Troy softly on the lips. Again, they were interrupted. This time by a light knock on the door.

"Come in Jeeves!" Ryan said, knowing full well it wasn't even the same butler than the one he had just phoned. The door swung open, and two carts loaded with food were wheeled in. Troy's eyes widened, and saliva started pooling at the corners of his mouth. Ryan took a napkin and wiped Troy's face as he thanked the butler and dismissed him.

Ryan wasn't kidding when he said everything. Almost falling off the tiers of the food carts, plates of food sat there, steam wafting up from them. Troy could see hamburgers, tacos, steak, pizza, pasta, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, fried potatoes, he wasn't surprised if the Evans' entire stock of food was sitting before him. Ryan could see the look on Troy's face. He placed a plate on Troy's lap and tied a napkin around Troy's neck.

"Dig in." Ryan said. Troy didn't need telling twice. Soon he and Ryan were gorging themselves with food. They had insanely vast appetites, but Ryan warned Troy not to eat too much.

"After all, they say it's bad to eat a lot before a workout." Ryan said, tossing aside a rib he had picked dry. Troy grinned at Ryan and pushed his empty plate away.

"Why don't we warm up then?" He said seductively, tugging on Ryan's shirt.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Ryan asked, pulling Troy's hand away and pushing his back onto the bed. "I'm leading today's workout." He said, shuffling up Troy's shirt. Troy's eyes slowly shut as his sides tingled from Ryan's touch. His shirt was pulled over his head and soon it was on the floor with a pile of dirty dishes. Ryan's fingers crawled down his abdomen to the waistline of his jeans. Troy wasn't wearing a belt today, so Ryan only had to pull down the fly and slip the pants off. Now only in his boxers, Troy opened his eyes and looked up at Ryan.

"Well aren't you going to strip down too?"

"I guess if you really want me to…" Ryan said, giving Troy a devilish grin. He took the hem of his shirt and revealed a sliver of his milky white skin. He played with the fabric, taunting Troy with an inch of bare skin.

"You are _such_ a tease!" Troy whined, moving his hands to lift Ryan's shirt off. Ryan caught him before he could, and tried to wrestle Troy off. In his effort, he lost his balance and fell onto Troy. They locked lips again and lost themselves in a frenzied kiss. Troy's hands had found the waistline of Ryan's pants and he tugged on them. His boxers came down with his pants and met the rest of their clothes as they continued to make out.

Finally Ryan lifted himself from Troy, panting heavily and dripping sweat. Troy brandished an already opened condom with a sly grin.

"I'll be taking that, thanks." Ryan said, snatching the thin piece of latex. Troy laughed softly before letting out a loud cry.

"Oh Ry—"

"SHH!" Ryan hissed, clamping a pillow over Troy's face. "Everyone's still awake Troy!" He kept one hand over the pillow as the other worked Troy's ass. Eventually, Troy was able to claw the pillow away. He gave Ryan a mischievous grin.

"OH YES RYAN! YES! OH FUCK RYAN! GIVE IT TO ME—"

"Oh now you're just being an ass." Ryan said, pressing his lips against Troy's to silence him. As he did, he removed his fingers and replaced them with something else. Troy let out a genuine moan, and as Ryan made love to him, he could only be grateful that his bedroom had very thick walls.

* * *

ha, and there you have it.

now more than i ever i feel really guilty about bashing Gabriella. especially after seeing HSM 2 again, i really like her character, and i will admit her and Troy are adorable together.

anyways, that's that. hopefully ill be able to get back into my writing groove and pump out some fast updates. til then, id love to ehar from all of you again! thank you so much for the reviews! and Happy New Year to you all!

see ya!


	13. Never Underestimate a Girl

**STOP!**

before you read this, read chapter 13 again, as I've added more to it. 797 words to be exact, and I'm pretty sure you _don't want to miss it!_

As for this chapter, it's rather short... probably the shortest one thus far. But i still really really like it. ah, um... not much to say, other than i stole the name from the Vanessa Hudgens song.

so um, yeah. enjoy:)

**

* * *

**

**-Chapter Fourteen-  
Never Underestimate a Girl**

Chad was relieved when Troy and Ryan promised him they would be less conspicuous in class. They still chanced a wink every now and then, but for the most part they were pretty low key. This brought much relief for Chad. For one thing, it was totally blowing their cover, and he and Taylor were running out of excuses. Troy was his best friend. He didn't want him to face the inevitable discrimination should his secret get out. And, more importantly, Chad found it pretty sickening sometimes. Oh sure, he was okay with the fact that Ryan and Troy were gay. It's just… they were so… _weird_ sometimes! He grew up knowing Troy as this macho basketball gay, and suddenly his making out with Drama boy in his new plaid slip-on shoes. It just seemed so _wrong!_ But Chad wasn't going to hold anything against Troy or Ryan. He cared enough about them to accept them for who they were, and they obviously cared about him. They had really opened his eyes to a lot of things. Ryan was the one who showed him even dancing took some game. Troy helped him realized that maybe even Shaquille O'Neil may have auditioned for his school play. And now they were showing him that, even though they were gay, they were still the same people. There was nothing wrong with it… even if it looked disgusting when they kissed.

On the other hand, Gabriella was still sulking. If she could not win Troy back with a sob story, she would damn well find another way. She wasn't really sure if she even wanted him back, but she would not admit defeat to another man. Especially if that man was Ryan Evans. If it wasn't one spoiled rich brat after your boyfriend, it was the other!

And that's when Gabriella hatched a most daring plan. One that involved a certain rich brat…

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan had taken Troy, Chad, and Taylor out for pizza that day after school. He would never be able to thank them enough for keeping their secret. He was so grateful to have such wonderful friends like Taylor and Chad. They sat around a table, drinking chocolate milkshakes and having a good time. It was just so nice to sit down with his friends and forget about everything else. As opening night drew nearer, rehearsals grew longer and more frequent. With the playoffs just around the corner, Troy was working overtime on the court. Final exams also loomed ominously close, which put stress on everyone. Something so simple as going out to dinner with friends was so liberating.

Troy looked to Ryan and placed his hand on his. He could see that light in Ryan's sky blue eyes. He was truly happy now, and nothing could bring Troy more joy than to see Ryan the way he was. He couldn't help it. Even if Chad was sitting right there, he just had to lean in and place a soft kiss on Ryan's cheek.

As Chad gagged on his pizza, Ryan turned to face Troy. "What was that for?"

"That was for being the most perfect person in the entire world." Troy said. Ryan smiled at him and returned the kiss.

"What was that for?" Troy asked.

"For dumping Gabriella for me." Ryan laughed. Troy joined him.

"Believe me, you don't have to thank me for that."

Taylor sighed as she watched the two. "Okay you lovebirds, break it up before Chad throws up." They both gave her a grin before separating.

Chad regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Speaking of Gabriella, I saw her walking with Sharpay after school today." The other three gave him a perplexed look.

"What?" Ryan asked disbelievingly. "Sharpay and Gabriella?"

"Dude, aren't hey like, arch-nemeses?" Troy asked.

Taylor shook her head. "That can't mean anything good. That's a volatile duo if I ever saw one."

"No kidding." Troy said. "I wonder what that bitch is scheming."

"With Sharpay on her side, you can bet it's something big." Ryan warned. The four pondered what gruesome ideas the two girls would be able to concoct together. No doubt Gabriella was hell bent on separating the two boys.

"Just be prepared you two." Taylor said. "As a combined force, they could take down the entire school."

"We'll watch your backs." Chad agreed.

"Thanks man." Troy said. He was grateful that his self-proclaimed most loyal best friend would still stick by him now. He gave Ryan an uneasy look. "You know what Sharpay is capable of. What can we expect?"

"Fireworks." Ryan replied. "And a whole lot more from Gabriella…"

-o-O-O-O-o-

Sharpay was primping herself in her locker mirror as always. She couldn't be caught walking in public looking anything less than perfect. As she touched up her foundation, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped when she saw Gabriella reflected in her mirror.

"What do you want?" Sharpay demanded loudly.

"Revenge." Gabriella said grimly.

What was once an angry glare was now a surprised yet satisfied look. "My specialty." Sharpay announced. "And the victim?"

"It's a surprise."

Sharpay gave Gabriella a sly grin and walked with her out of the school.

"Fabulous."

* * *

ooooh, here comes trouble!

i have to make this quick cuz i gotta run (more swimming, argh!) so, hope you liked that, reviews are always welcome, and thanks for reading!!!

ciao!


	14. A Plan In Action

hey hey heeyy!

sorry last chapter was so short! to make up for it, i made this one nice and long for y'all :)

this chapter was really fun. This chapter is following a trend i started last chapter in that I'm including other main characters instead of having the story focuss solely on Troy and Ryan. after all, they're all in this together, right?

...yes i realize that joke is largely overused.

this chapter is jam-packed with drama, so get ready to watch the feathers fly.

**

* * *

**

**-Chapter Fifteen-  
A Plan in Action**

Gabriella sauntered to her locker, looking particularly smug. Opening the door, she dropped all her books into it and locked it up once again. She checked her watch. The last bell had gone, and it was time for rehearsal. That also meant it was time to put her master plan into action. Taking long strides, Gabriella marched to her first destination.

Sharpay wasn't exactly sure what Gabriella was up to. She was mum on the victim, or victims it sounded like. She did ask Sharpay a lot of questions though. Naturally, getting even with people was one of Sharpay's lesser known skills. Well, at least _she_ thought it was a lesser-known skill. So she was more than happy to help.

Gabriella was cautious as she quietly sneaked to Troy's locker. In her hand she held a brief note, which she slipped into the vent in Troy's locker. She considered opening Troy's locker up to see if it landed in an obvious spot when she heard someone approaching. Turning her head in the direction of the incoming stranger, she hurried off in the opposite direction. She ducked down another hallway and pressed her back against the wall. She heard the footsteps get louder until they stopped. A locker was opened and the creak of its rusty hinges echoed in the empty hallway. Gabriella inched her head around the corner, and she could make out the back of Troy's head. Gabriella grinned. Phase one was complete.

Troy smiled brightly as he read the note Ryan had left in his locker. He slipped it into his pocket and walked over to the auditorium. Sharpay had stolen Ryan away from him right after class, and Troy was looking forward to a few minutes of alone time with him before rehearsal. He would just have to pull Ryan backstage and see where things would go in the darkness behind the curtain.

Ryan twiddled his thumbs as he stood rooted on the spot Sharpay had left him. She told him that they were doing a lights test, but as far as Ryan could tell all the lights were turned off. Still, he didn't move. The last thing he needed was Sharpay angry at him. He sighed and checked his watch. Rehearsal was due to stare in less than five minutes, where was everyone? As if answering his question, he heard the sound of someone's shoes against the stage floor. Ryan turned around and saw Troy smiling at him through a split in the left wing curtains.

"Hello love." Ryan smiled as Troy approached.

"Well isn't this a cozy rendezvous." Troy said, sidling up to Ryan and taking his hands. "What are you doing here all alone?"

Ryan leaned in a few inches closer. "Sharpay said we were doing a lights test." Troy faltered.

"Sharpay?"

Sharpay was standing on the edge of the stage, just in front of the curtains that concealed the rest of it. She watched as the seats filled up with people. She was starting to get concerned. Sure, it was her who said that revenge was always sweeter when you had an audience, but it was _Ryan_ on the other side of the curtains. She held her walkie-talkie to her mouth and hit the 'talk' button.

"Freaky Math Girl, this is Golden Throat, do you copy?"

"Roger." Came Gabriella's crackly reply. "What is it Sharpay?"

"Run by me again what Ryan's role in this big plan of yours is."

Gabriella's laugh sounded creepy over the radio when she replied. "When did you start caring?"

Sharpay frowned. What was that supposed to mean? She had always cared about Ryan! "Gabriella, what are you planning? Tell me why Ryan's behind the curtain!"

"I told you, Sharpay." Gabriella said. "It's a surprise."

Sharpay swallowed. By now, the entire auditorium was filled. Was Ryan still standing centre stage? What was going to happen to him? Now Sharpay was really worried. Was it him Gabriella was trying to get revenge on?

Troy and Ryan were still standing in the dark.

"You sure we can trust her?" Troy asked.

"Of course. I know Sharpay, and I know when she's about to put a plan into action. We're fine for now." Ryan said. His arms were wrapped around Troy's waist, and he was scarcely and inch from Troy. They were standing that close for far too long now. He slowly brought his mouth closer to Troy's, tilting his head up to compensate for Troy's height…

Sharpay heard someone yell 'Curtain!', and she could not stop herself. She dodged behind the curtain to see what everyone was about to witness. By the light of her iPod nano, she could make out Ryan's figure ensnared in someone else arms. She lifted the mp3 player a bit higher and saw the face of her brother's visitor. It hit Sharpay all at once like a subway train and she ran to the middle of the stage. As the curtains slowly slid open, she could see a spotlight flicker as it warmed up. She jumped into the air, aiming herself at the two boys standing centre stage.

Everything happened in a heartbeat. Ryan felt someone else's arms close around his back as a scream filled the air. He was pushed into Troy, and the three toppled over. As they hit the ground, the stage exploded with light. Dazed, confused, and blind, the only thing Ryan was aware of was the rush of murmurs that seemed to issue from the auditorium in front of him. Since when did people come to watch their rehearsals? The neck of his shirt dug into his throat as someone grabbed the back of it and tried to drag him away.

"Get up you two!" Hissed a familiar voice. Ryan did what he was told, or at least he tried to, and crawled off the stage, Troy wobbling beside him. The lights were dimmer offstage, and Ryan was finally able to recognize Sharpay.

He swayed a bit on the spot he sat on. "Shar, what just happened?"

But Sharpay didn't reply. In her hand she clutched his walkie-talkie. "GABRIELLA! HOW _COULD_ YOU?!"

"Sharpay, what did you do that for?" Came Gabriella's annoyed response.

Sharpay was beside herself in fury. Her whole body shook as she screamed into her walkie-talkie. "HOW DARE YOU USE ME TO GET REVENGE ON MY BROTHER!"

This time, Gabriella did not reply.

"GABRIELLA!" Sharpay shrieked once more.

"She's gone." Troy gathered, finally coming to his senses. He was now fully aware of what just happened, and what _almost_ happened.

"Not for long." Ryan said, he sounded like he was caught up too. "Shar, follow the GPS on the walkie-talkie."

Sharpay was already hitting buttons and reading the display. "That bitch! She's heading for the parking lot." Troy and Ryan scrambled to their feet and proceeded to run out of the auditorium. Sharpay was a bit slower getting there, as both her heels snapped off during her miraculous save. She hobbled along in her now demolished Louis Vuitton pumps after the two boys. The auditorium wasn't far from the south exit doors that lead into the student parking lot, and Ryan and Troy made good time getting there. Troy spotting Gabriella hopping into her mom's SUV, which she frequently borrowed. Ryan made for Sharpay's convertible, Sharpay not far behind. Troy, on the other hand, ran straight for the SUV.

Gabriella was about the floor the accelerator when Troy ran in front of her car. Her foot hovered over the pedal as Troy spread his arms out. She rolled the window down.

"Don't make me run you over, Troy!" She called out.

Troy laughed. "Hah, yeah right. You wouldn't run over a beetle let alone me."

Ryan watched from Sharpay's car.

"What is he doing?" Sharpay asked.

Ryan's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't… wait!" He jumped out of the car and ran over to Troy.

"Get out of the car Gabriella!" Troy said, as Ryan met him at his side.

"No!" She said.

Sharpay soon joined them and rolled her eyes. "Gabriella, stop trying to be badass. We know the car is still in park.

Gabriella grumbled. There was not fighting it. Deep down, she was still a goody-goody. She sighed in defeat and turned the car off. Slowly, she opened the door and stepped out of the car. She turned to face the three when she felt a hand slap her hard across the face. She gasped her head bounced off the car door.

"_That_ was for doing for being a lowly piece of scum!" Sharpay said. Despite this, Gabriella let out that freaky laugh again.

"You're one to talk." Gabriella said. "You're the queen of trickery."

"I would _never_ stoop that low!" Sharpay bellowed. "How dare you do that to my brother!"

"That _brother_ of yours happens to be a cock-loving fag if you didn't know." Gabriella said nastily.

"That _brother_ of mine happens to be someone I love if you didn't know!" Sharpay cried. "Just because you're not capable of loving someone doesn't mean I'm not."

Gabriella's steely glare faltered. She was not counting on this. Wasn't Sharpay supposed to not care about Ryan? Wasn't Ryan just her little sidekick? She grumbled. Why did everyone have to be so… _caring_ about each other! It just wasn't right! She was done with Sharpay; she obviously could not be trusted. She turned away from her and looked at Ryan and Troy.

"If you're going to stand there all day, I may as well just walk home." And with that, Gabriella turned around and walked away from the trio standing around her mother's SUV.

Sharpay let out an exhausted breath and turned around. She was met with two gaping stares.

"What? Did my eyeliner smudge?"

Ryan shook his head, moving his mouth like he was trying to talk. "Shar…pay…"

"Yes?" Sharpay asked, frowning slightly. "That's my name."

"I…"

Sharpay continued to look curiously at her brother until she was suddenly engulfed in his arms.

"Eek! Ryan, what are you doing you moron?!"

Ryan squeezed his sister tightly. "Thank you," was all he could say.

"For what?" Sharpay asked.

Ryan pulled away and gave her a great smile. "For… for caring about me."

"What?" Sharpay spat. "Of course I care about you! What are you on?"

Ryan laughed. Even if she cared about him she had to act like he was a complete idiot. "I don't know." He said.

"Well." Sharpay said, shutting her eyes. "I'm going home. I'm exhausted, and I need my rest. Saving your skin and screaming at Gabriella is very taxing." She gave her brother one last quick hug before walking past him. As she passed Troy, she paused.

"Take good care of him."

Troy nodded. "I will." Sharpay nodded too and walked to car, complaining about frown lines and broken shoes.

Troy and Ryan watched as Sharpay's Corvette sped out of the parking lot, leaving skid marks in its wake. They stood still for a good long while, until the squeal of Sharpay's tires could no longer be heard. They turned to face each other.

"We really suck at keeping a secret."

* * *

they seriously do.

i can _not_ get over the ending to By Starlight (BitterGrin). it was just so... beautiful! it was such a great story and i'm sad to know that it's over.

anyways, back to my story. i really like Sharpay's character. She's like an older sister to Ryan, even though they're twins. i think they have a great bond.

and i just love making Gabriella this crazy-lunatic, but one who's still afraid of really going bad. if she actually _considered_ running over Troy, i'd have to say that would be complete betrayal of her actual character, which i've mangled enough as it is.

so i hope you all enjoyed that chapter. you'd better, as i'm supposed to be doing lifeguard homework right now! if i fail, i'll blame YOU!

im just kiddin.. thats all for now, i have to go eat

peace out!


	15. Ice Turns to Water

hey everyone.

sorry this update took so long. ive been so blocked and uninspired lately. i'm also teaching FOUR swimming classes now, which includes writing 16 lesson plans (4 times 3 weeks and long term plans...), individual evaluations, and the actual teaching which takes up 4 hours of my sundays, and a lot of energy.

on top of school and work, that doesn't leave me much time or engery to write, unfortunately.

anyways, i had a good chunk of this chapter done a while ago, i just had to write the end for it. I'm not too crazy about this chapter, as there's a lot of dialogue in it, except for the last part where there's no dialogue at all...

oh, and about last chapter. if you didn't understand Gabriella's evil scheme, she got Ryan and Troy backstage where she figured they'd start kissing or doing something, and then she filled up the auditorium with people, with the hope that she'd lift the curtains, turn all the lights on and reveal to everyone Troy and Ryan kissing... or doing something else. thankfully, Sharpay intervened. hope that clears things up if it was confusing.

as for this chapter, it puts a lot of focus on everyone's favourite Ice Princess. enjoy!

**

* * *

**

-Chapter Sixteen-  
**Ice Turns to Water**

Ryan had never seen his sister like this. The following day, she was still in a rotten mood. Her shoes didn't match her hairband, her eye shadow clashed with her lip gloss, and she mixed two different shades of pink with her clothes, which made her look like she had a very bad and uneven sunburn. She snapped at Ryan when he pointed out how her blouse was buttoned wrong, and for the whole duration of their drive to school, she was muttering angrily under her breath.

"...no good dirty rotten filthy piece of—"

"Sharpay?"

Sharpay's piercing glare was redirected at Ryan, and he sank into his seat a few inches. The icy stare softened, and she placed a hand on Ryan's lap.

"So it's true then. You're going out with Troy?" She asked him, in an unusually soft voice. Ryan nodded.

"Yeah. For a while now." Ryan hoped Sharpay wouldn't get mad at him for keeping such a big secret. Her reaction was unexpected as she chuckled softly.

"I figured." She said.

Ryan groaned. _Her too?_ He and Troy would definitely have to work on being less obvious. "And how did you figure that out?" He asked.

Sharpay gave him a half smile and cleared her throat.

"'Gee Ryan, you look tense, let me fondle your shoulders.'"

"'Oh yes Troy, I love it when you touch me.'"

Sharpay squeezed the steering wheel like it needed a good back rub.

"'Oh yes Troy! Oh you make me so horny!'"

Ryan laughed at Sharpay's ridiculous impression. "That's _so _not how it happened."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "That was the general idea."

"Okay, so _maybe_ we were a little obvious." Ryan said. His laughter died down and it was a while until he spoke again. "Are you, uh… okay with it?"

"No." Sharpay stated plainly. "I find it totally revolting, and I'm ashamed to call you my brother." She cast Ryan a dark look and shook her head. "I'm so disappointed in you. What will mother say?"

Ryan swallowed and looked down. "Gee Sharpay… I'm sorry." Ryan felt sick. He thought Sharpay cared for him. He scolded himself. He was getting his hopes way too high. Out of nowhere, he heard a giggle, and turned to look at Sharpay.

"Haha! That was _priceless!_" She squealed. "Your face! Hahaha, I wish I had a camera!"

"What?" Ryan asked.

"You must be taking stupid lessons from Troy." Sharpay joked. "You usually don't fall for my acts."

Realization dawned on Ryan, and he gave Sharpay an annoyed look. "That was _so_ not funny, Shar."

"Yes it was, Ry." Sharpay replied cheekily. "Of course I'm okay with it!"

Ryan smiled. "I'm really glad to hear that." That made three people that accepted him and Troy. Ryan felt pretty lucky that so far, everyone he and Troy had come out too, accidentally or otherwise, were totally supportive of their decision. "You sure you're okay with it?"

Sharpay nodded. "I've had some time to think about it."

Ryan gave her a sideways glance. "And you're not mad at all that it's Troy?"

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "Ryan, I don't have a problem with you being gay."

"No, not that." Ryan said. "I mean, are you okay that it's _Troy_." Sharpay looked to her brother. She clued in to what he was trying to say.

"Oh. Yeah… I'm okay." Sharpay managed.

Ryan felt a bit guilty now. He always knew Sharpay had a thing for Troy. She had for a long time now. He hoped she had sort of gotten over him after the fiasco at the country club last summer, but then again, Sharpay wasn't one to just give up on things. He gave his sister a grateful look.

"Thank you Sharpay."

"Oh stop thanking me!" Sharpay groaned. "You're going to make me sound nice." The two shared a look, and laughed out loud.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy was waiting for Ryan at the usual spot at the end of the parking lot. Sharpay's pink blur roared into the parking lot five minutes late as usual. She parted ways with Ryan, but not before giving him a hug. She skipped off to classes, and Ryan jogged over to Troy.

"Good morning, Troy." Ryan chirped, looping an arm around Troy's and steering him toward the school.

"Fashionably late as usual, I see." Troy said, placing a kiss on Ryan's blond head.

"Of course." Being so 'fashionably late', Troy and Ryan were allowed to hold hands, as everyone was already on their way to class.

"How does Taylor even know when we do it?" Ryan asked, bewildered.

"She probably hacks into the school surveillance cameras." Troy said, chuckling.

Ryan laughed. "That wouldn't surprise me." As they pushed through the front doors into the foyer, Troy stopped Ryan to ask him something.

"So… how did Sharpay take it?"

Ryan made a face. "Well… better than I had hoped…" Troy nodded.

"She's okay with you being gay, but she still likes me?"

"Bingo." The two boys sighed, and continued their walk.

"Don't get me wrong. Your sister's a really nice girl. She's just… not my type."

Ryan nodded. "She's trying to accept that. But it isn't easy. Still, she's been totally accepting of us being gay. I think that's pretty cool."

"Yeah." They walked on, and suddenly Troy was aware of the fact that they had walked to the wrong end of the school. "Hey Ryan…"

"Yeah?"

"We're nowhere near Ms. Darbus' classroom." Ryan took a moment to take in his surroundings. Pausing, he looked at the corridor around them. They were in the languages hall, on the opposite side from Ms. Darbus' room. "How did that happen?"

"Guess we were too…_ preoccupied_." Troy said, pulling Ryan closer as he enunciated the last word.

Ryan grinned and wrapped his arms around Troy's waist. "And we know what happens when we get preoccupied." He took Troy's shoulders and pushed him into the lockers, sealing his mouth over Troy's. Troy moaned as Ryan's hands slid down the back of his jeans.

"Ryan." Troy whispered urgently. "Weren't we gonna work on… playing it cool?" Soft moans and gasps punctuated his sentence.

"Oh Troy." Ryan growled. "How can I play it cool when you're so hot?" Troy could feel Ryan tugging on his pants.

"Not _here_ Ryan!" Troy gasped. Ryan stopped and pulled away, a bit frustrated.

"Then _where_?"

Troy gave him a furtive grin and pulled out his car keys. "Let's go for a ride."

-o-O-O-O-o-

Sharpay sighed as she walked to her car, alone. The last bell had gone, and Sharpay was ready to head home. Her brother, on the other hand, was not.

Passing Troy's locker on the way to her own, Sharpay had seen Ryan with Troy yet again. One look at them holding hands was enough to tell Sharpay that Ryan would not be accompanying her that afternoon.

Finally, everything made sense. All those extra rehearsals with Troy. All those lunch blocks he mysteriously disappeared. It was because he was going out with Troy…

Sharpay wanted to be happy for Ryan. She knew she should have been, but she wasn't. And him being gay was the least of her problems. Truth be told, she wasn't the least bit surprised, seeing how he owned more pink than she did.

For one thing, it bothered her that Ryan and Troy were able to keep it a secret for so long right under her nose. She had only found out yesterday, but judging by the way they were making out, they obviously had some experience. Sharpay shuddered as another thought entered her mind. Had they… _done it_ yet? Was it… _possible?_

Sharpay frowned as she stepped into her car and started it. "Of course it's possible." She muttered to herself. "They just…" But she didn't finish her sentence and shook the horrifying images out of her head.

She was a bit annoyed. After all, she and Zeke had only kissed twice… and it wasn't really that spectacular… Thinking about Zeke made her feel a bit guilty, as another reason she was upset was the fact that Ryan was going out with _Troy_ of all people. By now, she should have gotten over Troy. It had been, what, over seven months now? A lot had changed since summer vacation, and she really ought to have moved on by now. Especially since she had a boyfriend. Still, she wouldn't not deny that sometimes she wished Troy loved her. And now that he was going with Ryan did not help things at all.

Sharpay groaned as she sped through the busy intersections. She felt pretty shitty now. She felt bad for not being happy for Ryan. She felt jealous that Troy had chosen Ryan over her. She felt guilty that she was even thinking these things when she had Zeke. All in all, she felt completely terrible. As she turned the steering wheel, a glint of light reflected into her eye. She lifted her left hand from the wheel to notice the charm bracelet dangling from her wrist. A silver heart twinkled in the spring sun, and Sharpay was reminded of the day she received it. The day the Ice Princess melted.

Sharpay riffled through her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Hitting speed dial, she held the phone to her ear. She waited patiently for the ringing to yield her beloved's voice.

* * *

and there you have it. 

i wrote and published a new oneshot the other day, called Kiss the Girl. It's a tryan (naturally), and its based on a true story. check it out if you want. and for the record, i love the Ashley Tisdale version of that song.

i foresee the end of this story soon. i have ideas for new stories, but nothing is really ready so i might take a short break after this one is done. we'll see.

i hope you guys liked that chapter. reviews are always welcomed. thanks for reading!

peace


	16. Oh Troy

aloha everyone :)

okay, i've totally gotten over my writer's block now, I'm so happy. i wrote two nice long chapters for you guys, although, im only including one in this update.

i'm really pleased with this chapter. we're kicking gabriella and sharpay out of the spotlight, Tryan wants it back :D LOTS of tryan fluff abound, this might even be my fluffiest chapter yet (although, i could be mistaken, you can be the judge of that).

well, i'll let you get on with reading then, enjoy :)

**

* * *

**

**-Chapter Seventeen-  
Oh Troy…**

The days leading to opening night grew ever shorter, and as they did, rehearsals grew even longer and more rigorous. It was a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it kept everyone out of trouble. Troy and Ryan almost lost the will, and definitely the energy, to have sex anymore. Gabriella could not even think of a decent revenge scheme with so many dances to perfect. Sharpay didn't have time to worry about who her brother was going out with, as she had enough lines to memorize.

On the other hand… it kept everyone out of trouble. Ryan would have loved nothing more than to screw his boyfriend silly, but it didn't seem that appealing when Troy was fast asleep. Gabriella was almost driven to madness that she had not separated the two boys yet, and almost decapitated Martha during one of the livelier dance routines. And Sharpay's depression was really bringing her performance down, as her character was supposed to be bright and happy… and without a brother dating the love of her life…

During one of their rehearsals, Ryan and Troy snuck backstage to steal a few minutes for themselves. Ryan had Troy wrapped in his arms, and he embraced him gently as Troy spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ryan."

Ryan smiled. "What is it now?"

"I'm sorry that we can't have sex anymore." Troy said quietly. Ryan let out a loud laugh.

"Troy, really, don't sweat it." Ryan said, holding Troy tighter. "Opening night is in a week. After that, we can have sex as much as you want."

Troy chuckled and nuzzled his cheek against Ryan's chest. "Okay, sounds good."

It was rare for Ryan to be the one holding Troy. Being the smaller of the two, Ryan was usually in Troy's arms, as he stroked his hair and whispered to him. But Troy just couldn't do that right now. On top of these demanding rehearsals, he also had basketball, which put the weight of the championships on his shoulders. Troy had turned to living off of Red Bulls, but Ryan immediately stopped him. He knew those things only did more damage to an already tired body. And so, when Troy was not onstage or on the court, he was with Ryan. It was the only thing that kept Troy going now. He was literally living off of Ryan.

Ryan sighed, breathing in Troy's scent. He could remember that day, a day that seemed so far in the past, when he first caught a whiff of that smell. It was a different time, when Troy and Ryan were almost strangers. It was that first awkward rehearsal with Gabriella, and Ryan found himself helping Troy with his Twist. That day, Ryan saw Troy in a different light. He would never forget that day.

Ryan lowered his head and kissed Troy softly on the head. "Troy, I love you." He whispered.

Troy didn't respond. Instead, a soft snore escaped his mouth, and he hugged Ryan tighter.

Ryan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh Troy… Ms. Darbus is going to have a cow." He looped one arm under Troy's legs and another around his back. It took a bit of work, but Ryan was able to heave Troy up and carry him as he walked away. He lumbered over to the right wing and pushed through the curtains onto the stage. Ms. Darbus was onstage, giving Sharpay some directions on the scene they were working on. They both turned around when they heard Ryan. Sharpay held a hand to her mouth and let out a huge 'Awww!' when she saw Troy curled up in Ryan's arms.

Ms. Darbus gave Ryan a strange look. "Ryan, what's happened to Troy?"

"He's not feeling well." Ryan said. "I'm going to take him home so he can rest."

Ryan knew that Ms. Darbus would rather have Troy stay, but she was aware that Troy also had basketball to contend with. Grudgingly, she let Troy leave.

"But I expect you to be back here as soon as possible, are we clear Mr. Evans?"

"Yes ma'am." Ryan replied. He walked up to Sharpay, and she stuffed the key to her car in his pocket. Still carrying Troy, he then climbed off the stage. He walked down the aisle, past the rows of seats where the rest of the cast sat. Ryan could hear some people sharing Sharpay's reaction as he made his way to the exit. This was probably the first time people had seen Troy in such a vulnerable state. Usually, he was this hotshot basketball star that everyone worshipped, and here was, asleep and being carried away by Drama boy. Ryan smiled smugly as he pushed through the auditorium doors and into the parking lot.

By now, the sun had almost set. Still, Sharpay's bright pink car wasn't hard to miss. She left it with the top down, not worried in the slightest of it getting stolen. She could easily get a new one anyways. Ryan lifted Troy over the passenger side door and set him gently on the seat. He took the seatbelt and tried to buckle it in place. Once Troy was securely in his seat, Ryan made his way around the front of the car to his side. He pulled Sharpay's key out of his pocket, hopped in and started the car up. The drove home was quiet. Troy was fast asleep the whole time, and there was barely any traffic. Ryan decided he'd bring Troy to the mansion, and he could have him pampered there while Ryan went back to rehearse. Ryan pulled out his cell phone to call Troy's parents.

"Hi Mrs. Bolton, it's Ryan."

"Ryan dear!" Mrs. Bolton replied. "How are you? Are you eating enough?"

"Yes, I'm eating." Ryan said. "Um, I was wondering if it was all right if Troy spent the night at my house."

"Of course dear." Mrs. Bolton replied. "Did you want me to drive over with some pajamas for Troy?"

"Oh no, that's okay." Ryan said. _He won't be needing them anyways_ Ryan thought mischievously. "He'll just borrow some of mine."

"Okay, well you boys have fun. And don't overwork yourselves at rehearsal!"

_Too late for that._ "Yeah, we will. Thanks Mrs. Bolton."

"Anytime dear." Ryan closed his phone and stuffed back into his pocket. Troy's parents practically treated him like he was their second son, and he liked it. He only hoped they would still act that way when Troy came out to them. _If_ Troy came out to them. Then Ryan got thinking. When would he and Troy come out? How would they do it? Would they tell everyone one by one? Would they make a big public announcement? People weren't going to stay fickle highschoolers forever, and eventually, they would have to know. How would his parents react? How would Mr. and Mrs. Evans react when Troy revealed he loved Ryan instead of Sharpay? Ryan could remember last summer. Troy had made a lot of promises to Sharpay, in front of their parents too. Would they resent Troy for it? Would they resent Ryan too?

Ryan shook his head. He didn't want to think about things like that right now. He and Troy would cross that bridge when they got there. Right now, all Ryan was worried about was Troy, and making sure he survived the next week. He made it to his house. Pulling into the garage, Ryan got out of the car and picked Troy up again. He made his way throughout the house, finally reaching his bedroom. As he slowly set Troy on the bed, Troy's eyes fluttered open.

"Oh Troy." Ryan sighed. "As soon as I get you here you wake up."

"Where am I?" Troy asked, blinking his eyes. "Is it time for my scene yet?"

Ryan laughed. "No, silly. You're at my house now."

"What?" Troy exclaimed. He tried to get up, but Ryan put a hand on Troy's chest and gently pushed him down again.

"You're not going anywhere Troy." Ryan said. "You need to rest."

"No." Troy frantically shook his head. "Our scene, we have to practice! Ms. Darbus—"

"Shh." Ryan said calmingly. He pushed Troy over a bit and laid next to him. "The world can wait for one night."

Troy wanted to argue, but he knew it would do him no good. Instead, he looked into Ryan's luminescent eyes and allowed himself to get comfortable.

"I love you too, Ryan."

"Hm?"

Troy smiled. "I never said it back when you said you loved me backstage."

Ryan smiled and draped an arm over Troy's shoulder. Troy did the same and pulled Ryan closer.

"No Troy." Ryan said softly. "I have to go." He tried to resist Troy, but he couldn't.

"That's not fair." Troy said. "Why do you get to go back and not me?" Ryan smiled.

"Troy, you can't always be the hero. Besides, I only have the play to worry about. You have that _and _championship game."

"But I want you to stay with me." Troy pleaded softly. He squeezed Ryan even tighter and kissed him on the chest, over his heart.

"Oh Troy…" Ryan sighed, for the third time that night. "Please, don't make this harder that it already is. I have to go back."

Troy didn't say anything, but his arms loosened, and Ryan was able to sit up.

"I promise you, I'll be home before you know it." Ryan said, taking Troy's hand and placing a kiss on it.

Troy nodded and sighed deeply. "Okay, Ryan…" Ryan turned away from Troy and reached for the phone on his nightstand.

"Hello Jeeves? Yes, I want you to bring up some food, some extra pillows, a bunch of Sharpay's DVDs, and Javier." He then hung up the phone and turned back to Troy, who gave him a questioning look.

"What's a Javier?" He asked perplexedly.

"Why, he's our masseuse." Ryan said with a smirk.

"Masseuse?!" Troy yelped. "Okay, it's bad enough that you're spoiling me with all this food and room service. But I _don't _need a masseuse!"

There was a knock on the door. "Too late." Ryan said. He pecked Troy on the cheek and stood up. "I'll be back before you know it. Try to enjoy yourself, okay?"

Troy grumbled. "Okay." Ryan waved goodbye before opening the door. A cart of food, a maid holding a pile of pillows and a stack of DVDs, and Javier all entered the room as Ryan made his exit.

* * *

Ryan walking around carrying a sleeping Troy just paints the cutest picture in my mind. isn't Ryan the sweetest?

i thought this was the perfect opportunity for more Ryan/Mrs. Bolton interaction. i just love the kind of mother i made her, even if she's nothing like that in the movies.

one part of this chapter really reminds me of my previous story, Sing With Me, where Troy and Ryan don't want to leave each other, despite having to, Although, this time i swapped the roles.

oh, and i stole the name Javier from Sharpay's ex-lifeguard at Lava Springs in HSM2. or it oculd the same guy, i dunno. whatever you want, lol.

well, i hope you all enjoyed that chapter. please please please review, because i love hearing from you guys! thanks so much for reading!

peace!

PS. i hope you're looking forward to next chapter. if you wanna know why, lets just say im starting a trend that occurs every 9 chapters.


	17. Heart to Heart

see what reviews do? it hasn't even been 24 hours and i'm already on chapter 21! not bad, eh?

thanks to jacob for the titanic review. as a self-proclaimed grammar-nazi, i still have a lot to learn apparently. as for Troy and Ryan's relationship, its really reflective of how i view relationships. one of the main reasons i don't pursue relationships with girls anymore is the whole gender role thing. i feel like there's a giant list of requirements to meet as the male of a hetero relationship. whereas, in a gay relationship, you can shift things indefinitely. whatever you're comfortable with, you can do. i just like the idea of a relationship where, there's no such thing as a 'dominant' partner. you can rely on your partner to make up for your shortcomings, just as you make up for his. its all about equality, about finding a perfect balance.

however, thats all just idealism. i really have no idea how it works. ive never been in a gay relationship, thats just sorta the way i picture it. ive only been in one straight relationship, and my ex-gf alone is another big reason i dont pursue girls anymore.

anyways, i'm getting COMPLETELY off topic. ironically enough, this chapter deals a lot about the difference between girls and guys. its short, but there's plenty more on the way.

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**-Chapter Nineteen-  
Heart to Heart**

Taylor wrapped her arms around Gabriella, in an effort to comfort her. They were both sitting in Gabriella's living room, amongst a mess of discarded tissues. Sobbing dramatically, Gabriella tossed another wetted tissue over her shoulder.

"Taylor," she said. "You're my best friend, right?"

Taylor nodded and handed Gabriella another tissue. "Of course I am, Gabriella."

"Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

"About Troy?" Taylor asked. She brought a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Gabriella. At this point, I don't think there's anything you _can_ do."

Gabriella balled up her hands and pounded the sofa they were sitting on. "This isn't _fair!"_ She declared. "He dumps me for Ryan just like that!" Gabriella snapped her fingers. "No reason! No explanation! Nothing!" She took in a shuddering breath and slumped her shoulders, blowing her nose into yet another tissue.

Gingerly taking the used tissue, Taylor patted Gabriella on the back. "I know. That was completely insensitive of Troy to do. But you have to kinda place yourself in his shoes."

"What?" Gabriella shot Taylor a murderous glare. Was she taking Troy's side?

"Gabriella, you had to notice that you and Troy were drifting apart," Taylor said. "Things were just getting too complicated for him."

"How were things getting complicated?" Gabriella asked. "I'm not a needy girl. I don't ask for much."

"Believe me," Taylor said. "You ask Troy, and he'll probably say something completely different. Guys have a _totally_ different way of seeing things. It's the battle of the sexes. That's probably why he started going out with Ryan, 'cause that way, he'd already won that battle."

"What are you even talking about?" Gabriella spat.

"What I'm trying to say is, Troy probably felt really close to Ryan because they understood each other really well. Guys see girls as some alien species, but they see each other as someone they can really relate to. As you two drifted apart, he was able to tell Ryan what his take on your relationship was. Thus, as he moved further from you, he grew closer to him."

Eyes bloodshot and bleary, Gabriella stared at her friend. She didn't want to admit it, but what Taylor was saying actually made sense. Sometimes she felt that she and Troy just weren't on the same level. She could say something so straightforward, and it would be completely lost on him. But she could easily see another guy like Ryan being able to understand Troy. Boys were _so_ simple sometimes. Gabriella crossed her arms.

"That still doesn't excuse him from asking Ryan out behind my back. He could have at least ended our relationship first before starting a new one."

Taylor agreed. "Yes, that's probably the only thing he did wrong. But think of it this way. If he had broken up with you, wouldn't you have gotten suspicious? You'd want to know why he did it, right? _Right?_"

Gabriella grumbled, and nodded slowly. "Oh I guess I would."

"But he wouldn't have been able to tell you without telling you he was gay. So, he wasn't doing it to lead you on. He was doing it—"

"To protect himself," Gabriella finished. "In other words, he was using me." Gabriella sighed. "All of his actions have reasonable explanations, but it still doesn't make it right."

Taylor was glad to hear this. For the first time in what seemed like ages, Gabriella was talking calmly and logically. Yes, Troy had his reasons, but it was still wrong of him to do what he did.

"And you know what?" Gabriella continued. "He's not even sorry. Nope, not one bit."

"I know, Gabriella," Taylor said. "Maybe he just hasn't seen the error in his ways yet. He'll come around eventually."

"Well, I don't feel like waiting."

Taylor groaned. Gabriella had resumed herself for, what, a minute? But now, Taylor could see that look in Gabriella's eyes again. She could see the hatred that boiled deep within Gabriella's soul. No, she obviously wasn't going to wait for Troy, but she was also going to make him regret it. Useless as it was, Taylor tried to deter Gabriella.

"Please, just drop it for now. If you do anything else, it'll only take him longer."

Gabriella looked at Taylor, exasperation plastering her face.

Taylor closed her eyes and pleaded. "Please Gabriella… just give him time…"

* * *

as much as this is Troy and Ryan's story, it's also Gabriella's story. it'd be really fun to just say 'screw gabriella, give tryan their happy ending', but i need to go through with Gabriella's side of the story. Troy did just leave her hanging, which was totally mean. to leave her like that wouldn't give this story the closure it needs.

anyways, i hope you liked that chapter. i dont know how soon the next updates will come. sooner than i planned probably. in the meantime, dont by shy reviewing now.

until next time!


	18. Scholastic Decathlon Day

props to Tertiary Genesis for getting jacob into tryan. y'all should check out his Tryan, its really great stuff.

this, and the next few chapters, will be on the longer side. which is good (at least in my mind), because the longer the better, right? ;)

ive taken jacob's advice to heart, and i've really tried to improve on the things he's pointed out. if you think my writing's imrpoved at all, some feedback would be lovely :) regarding the chapter, it's crunch time for everyone, and they're all working hard to prepare for some of East High's biggest events. first on the agenda iiiis... The Scholastic Decathlon!

enjoy.

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**-Chapter Twenty-  
Scholastic Decathlon Day**

Ms. Darbus, Coach Bolton, and Principal Matsui all had a very important meeting to discuss the impending list of events on the calendar. Ms. Darbus made it quite clear that nothing would get in the way of her show. The theatre, as she has often pointed out, waits for _no one_. She required a whole week for her production, so other events would have to be planned around it. Coach Bolton strongly emphasized the fact that East High was going for its second championship, and they needed not only a free day for the game, but time enough to practice beforehand. There was also the matter of the Scholastic Decathlon, which was of particular importance to Principal Matsui, as another victory would qualify the school for additional funding. The three teachers were also aware of the fact that, once again, students were participating in more than just one event apiece. They would have to plan everything so that no one missed out on one event for another. The three argued well into the night until they could all come to an agreement…

-o-O-O-O-o-

The dates were set for all the big events lined up for East High. Both Ryan and Troy promised Taylor they would go to the Scholastic Decathlon as a token of their undying gratitude. Ryan, of course, was going to Troy's basketball game. Troy was going to get Ryan and Sharpay (she was going for Zeke) the best seats in the house. Chad and Taylor were also going to the Spring Musical, along with all their other friends. The end to all the madness was inching closer with each day. However, that also meant everyone had to work harder in preparation. Ryan and Sharpay practically lived in the auditorium now. Taylor came to school early everyday, and left well after the school closed. Chad was practicing his game 24/7, running the plays in his head. Things were especially tough for Troy and Gabriella, as they were both involved in the play, as well as the basketball game and Scholastic Decathlon respectively. With a lot of help from Ryan (and a little Red Bull in his cereal), Troy was able to keep himself alert enough to push through. Taylor was coaching Gabriella through not only their chemistry formulas, but also with coping with Troy and Ryan. Everyone was praying that, when everything was finally over, things would be a LOT easier, physically, mentally, and most of all, emotionally.

The Scholastic Decathlon was the first to arrive. After school, the Chem club bussed down to West High, where the Decathlon was taking place. Ryan was driving Troy and Chad, and they would be meeting some of their parents there as well. When they all arrived, tension was thick in the air. West High was determined to come back from their fall from the previous year, and East High was aiming to continue their winning streak. As Gabriella, Taylor, and the rest of the team prepared, Troy and Ryan joined everyone else to watch.

Troy and Ryan were sitting beside each other. Space was tight, as more people came to watch this time. Troy had a funny feeling he and Gabriella had something to do with it. It suited him just fine, as it gave him an excuse to squeeze closer to Ryan. The teams were assembling in front of the panel of judges. Taylor was up first for team East High, going against some dorky-looking Knight. They assumed their positions as the rest of the teams stood aside to watch. A buzzer went off, and Taylor's hand raced across the whiteboard, leaving in its wake the most indistinct jumble of letters and numbers Troy had ever seen.

"What the hell are they writing?" Troy asked incredulously.

"The entire Chemistry 12 textbook it looks like," Ryan said in awe. The crowd watched in silence as Taylor and Dork-Knight battled it out. When Taylor reached the bottom of her whiteboard, she dropped her pen and stumbled over to the timer, dropping a hand onto the stop button. Her opponent stopped writing immediately, averting his gaze to Taylor's work, which was currently under the scrutiny of the judges. He was about 4 lines behind Taylor. As the judges read off their cards, Ryan and Troy marveled at Taylor.

"How does she write so fast without her hand falling off?" Troy said, clutching his wrist unconsciously.

One of the judges nodded, and Taylor let out a small whoop as East High won their first point. Applause broke out, and team East High congratulated Taylor as Dork-Knight retreated dejectedly to his own team.

Martha was up next, her opponent some snobby looking girl with frizzy blonde hair. Martha looked confident as she uncapped her pen and readied herself for the question. At the sound of the buzzer, the two girls took off at lightning speed. If it were possible, Martha finished even faster than Taylor, and West High had barely even made it halfway before she stopped the timer. Unfortunately, Martha had made a mistake. The clock was started again, and the Knights were given a chance to catch up as Martha scrambled to find her error.

Ryan bounced his leg anxiously as his eyes scanned Martha's equation.

"You're not seriously trying to solve that, are you?" Troy asked.

"No," Ryan said. "I'm trying to see if I can find the whole alphabet in there."

Troy let out a laugh, which punctuated the silence. He ignored the annoyed glances as he too tried to seek out the alphabet in Martha's equation. He reached the bottom of the board, and was disappointed when he was one letter short.

"Darn," Troy said. "There's no—"

"Q!" Martha exclaimed loudly. She wiped out part of her answer and wrote in a new string of letters and numbers, which started with the mentioned letter. Once again, she stopped the timer, and this time East High garnered its second point. Once again, the Wildcats in the audience burst out in cheer, drowning out the groans from the Knights.

Martha wiped her brow and rejoined her fellow teammates. She gave Gabriella a high five. Troy caught this, and leaned in to take a closer look. Something about Gabriella seemed different. Was she wearing a new bow? Nah, maybe it was a haircut? Then it hit Troy. Gabriella was smiling. Troy cocked his head as he continued to look at his ex-girlfriend. That beautiful upward curve that revealed her pearly white teeth almost looked out of place on her face. Gabriella had been so upset lately, Troy had forgotten what she looked like when she was happy. Ryan nudged Troy.

"Hey, did Gabriella get a haircut or something?" Ryan asked.

"No," Troy said distractedly. It was weird, but Troy actually liked seeing Gabriella smile. After all the yelling and screaming she had done, just seeing her smiling and enjoying herself made Troy feel good too. Gabriella might not have been in the best position right now, but for her to have a brief moment when she cold forget all her troubles and just be happy… it must be a good feeling.

Troy shook his head of all his deep thinking. By the time he had returned to his senses, Gabriella and her opponent were already started. Troy sighed and took Ryan's hand. At least for today, Troy could be certain that Gabriella would not try to get in their way.

Ryan was surprised at the contact and looked at Troy. There was something serene and beautiful about Troy when he was just sitting quietly and watching something. Ryan leaned his head toward Troy and rested it on Troy's shoulder. A few seconds later, Ryan felt something hit the back of his head. He looked down to see a ball of crumpled up paper. Turning around, he saw Chad a few rows back, shaking his head and making slashing movements with his hands. Ryan gave him a grin and turned around again.

Naturally, Gabriella won the third round. As everyone cheered for her, it was looking like East High would be bringing home the gold for this Decathlon. Three contestants remained on each team. The best West High could do was tie up the Decathlon. Round four meant East High's first loss, beaten by a millisecond. By some fluke, West High won round five as well, and suspense started to build as the final two competitors readied for the game-deciding final round. The buzzer went off, and the race began. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Troy was biting his nails, another bad habit of his.

Everyone let out a loud groan when West High was the first to stop the clock. The panel of judges inspected his work as East High waited in anticipation. They lit up when the judges shook their heads and the clock was restarted. East High had a good lead, and it looked like they were going to win. Suddenly, the Wildcat braniac stopped in mid-formula. Everyone held their breath all at once, and the tension was so thick you could taste it.

Sweat dripped down the Wildcat's face as he strained to remember the answer. The seconds ticked by, and West High was surpassing East High. Things were starting to look bleak. What was this kid doing? His Knight rival had just about finished his answer, and he was about to write the last section, when suddenly the delicate silence was shattered.

"IT'S 16 OVER PI!" There was a loud gasp, and the whole room directed its attention to the cause of the interruption. With eyes wide and hands clasped over her mouth, Gabriella stood under the burning gaze of her peers. She just blew it.

A judge stood up, redirecting some of the room's attention. "Calling out an answer is against regulations. East High has been disqualified for this round. West High wins the final round."

The applause was weak and muddled with whispering and murmurs. East High had lost the Scholastic Decathlon, but West High had not won it either.

Troy shook his head. "She's gonna hate herself for this."

Ryan sighed. "Well, at least West High didn't win." Both Ryan and Troy knew that would be a weak consolation for Gabriella, but maybe that was the price to be paid for having such a big mouth. Hanging their heads, everyone got up from their seats and emptied the room. Technically, it was a tie. But for the Wildcats, if it wasn't a victory, it was a loss. Their only hope now was for Troy to step up and lead the basketball team to win the championships.

Ryan held Troy tight and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "It's up to you now, love."

* * *

:( poor Gabriella.

yes, i feel sorry for Gabriella.

anyways, that's all there is for now. oh, but before i go, i have something **very important** to ask all of you. you know Ryan and Sharpay's warm up, the one they do before every performance? well, how exactly would you put that into words? especially the part that comes before "MAH!". why this is so important is a bit of a surprise, but if anyone can help, that would be totally awesome. thanks!

i hope you all enjoyed that chapter. as always, reviews are welcome. thanks so much for reading!

ciao.


	19. Game Day Pt 1

Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews

I _finally_ finished this chapter, hope i ddin't keep you guys waiting too long. um... i dunno what else to say, so i'll just leave it at that and let you read...

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**-Chapter Twenty One-  
Game Day Pt. 1**

Troy groaned as the annoying shrill of his alarm clock jarred him from his peaceful sleep. Knocking it over in the process, Troy fumbled to turn it off. He rolled over and shut his eyes again, wanting to enjoy his Saturday morning sleeping in. However, the weight of the day's importance crushed the prospect of a few hours more sleep. Reluctantly, Troy left the warmth of his bed. The championship basketball game was that afternoon, and no doubt his father had a torturous warm-up routine in mind. Troy pulled at his hair as he stumbled toward the bathroom. He didn't want to go to practice today. He scarcely wanted to go to the game, but he had already worked too hard for it. The only thing Troy wanted to do was see Ryan.

During his routine morning shower, Troy decided he would skip out on practice that day and just drive over to Ryan's house. He had spent almost everyday of the past few weeks in the gym. He was pretty sure he could afford to miss _one_ practice. After all, a guy had to spend time with his… well, _guy,_ every once in awhile. After hopping out of the shower, Troy got dressed and joined his parents for breakfast. When Troy entered the kitchen and took a seat, he wasn't surprised to see his father hunched over their list of plays while stuffing a piece of toast into his mouth. Mrs. Bolton tsk'ed and grabbed her husband's binder.

"Can you get your head _out _of the game for at least five minutes, Jack?" She sighed, placing a plate of pancakes in front of him.

Troy shook his head and laughed as his father fruitlessly tried to snatch his book back. "Hon, today's the—"

"Championship game. I know," Mrs. Bolton said. "But if you look at this thing any longer your eyes will fall out."

Jack Bolton grumbled in defeat and cut into his pancakes. He was suddenly aware of his son's presence, and gave him a hearty smile.

"Troy, good to see you up early," he said. "We've got to practice hard today if we want to crush West High in the game today."

Troy grimaced as he started on the eggs his mother handed him. "Dad, we've been practicing almost everyday. Can't we just, like… _not_ practice for once?"

Jack almost choked on his pancake. "Wh-what?" He sputtered. "Troy, are you crazy? There's so much depending on this game today. There's the trophy, and your scholarship, and—"

"Dad!" Troy exclaimed. If he heard the word 'scholarship' on more time, he would seriously strangle someone.

Mr. Bolton cleared his throat awkwardly and bowed his head to continue eating. He knew he should probably stop bringing up Troy's scholarship. He had already been pushing Troy too hard the previous year, and he was doing far worse now. He constantly had to remind himself that there were other things that were important to Troy. After a few minutes of silence, Troy spoke again.

"I'm going to Ryan's house. I'll be at the gym for a few practice shots before the game."

Jack Bolton nodded his head. "All right Troy. That's your call, but just remember what's riding on this game."

"Yeah yeah." Troy sighed. "Scholarship, got it." Troy pushed away a half eaten plate of breakfast and left the kitchen, giving his parents a parting wave.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan was surprised when Jeeves came knocking on his door, informing him that he had a visitor. Ryan followed the butler out of the room and passed him as he raced down the stairs. He made his way down to the entrance, where he found a gloomy looking Troy.

"Troy? What are you doing here?" Ryan asked, walking up to Troy and greeting him with a hug. "Don't you have practice today?"

Troy shook his head. "I really can't endure another practice," he grumbled. "I'll just head down at game time and hope for the best."

Ryan completely understood where Troy was coming from. If he had to endure another one of Ms. Darbus' rehearsals, he would surely kill himself. He guided Troy back up to his room, knowing Troy would just want to chill out. As they reached Ryan's door, Ryan stopped Troy and gently pressed him against the doorframe. His hands rested on Troy's hips as he drew his face close to Troy's.

"You've been a busy boy, haven't you?" Ryan asked.

"Much too busy," Troy replied. "Doing other things when I should be spending time with you." He cupped Ryan's face in his hands and brought it even closer to his own. Their lips made contact, and Troy closed his eyes. Such a simple act could evoke so much emotion within. The kiss wasn't urgent or needy. It was slow, gentle, and loving. For this short moment in time, nothing else in the world mattered but Ryan. Troy slowly let his breath out through his nose, tickling Ryan's face. He giggled at the tingling sensation, and Ryan's laughter interspersed with their kiss. They broke away, both grinning wide. Hands clasped with Troy's, Ryan pulled Troy into the room, locking the door behind him. He led Troy to the bed, falling back onto it. Troy followed suit, laying on top of Ryan and squeezing him tight. Troy's hulking figure completely smothered Ryan, and his breath came out in strained laughter.

"What do you think you're doing Troy?" Ryan asked.

"Resting." Troy replied placidly.

Ryan chuckled. "You're also suffocating me."

Troy grunted and shifted his weight off of Ryan. His body slumped in the empty space beside Ryan, and he draped an arm over Ryan's stomach. Troy propped his head up with his other arm and took in his beautiful boyfriend. The hand on Ryan's abdomen slowly started shuffling his shirt up to reveal Ryan's milky white skin. Giving Ryan a warm smile, Troy moved his head over Ryan's now exposed stomach and lowered it to cover the soft skin with tender kisses. Ryan laughed softly at the sensation. Troy slowly started moving upward, until he met the fabric of Ryan's shirt, which was still covering his chest. Troy rested his ear against Ryan's heart, as Ryan had done so many times before. He could see why Ryan did it so much. It was inexplicably calming to feel Ryan's heart thumping softly under his cheek. Troy breathed a long sigh of content.

"I love you, Ryan."

Ryan smiled down at Troy and ran a hand through his luscious brown locks. "I love you too, Troy."

They lay like that for what seemed like an eternity. Troy certainly wished it was an eternity, but good things never lasted that long. Especially with a championship basketball game looming so ominously close.

"When is the game anyway?" Ryan asked offhandedly.

"Quarter after four," Troy replied, with particular disdain. He felt Ryan move under him as he checked his bedside clock. "Mm?" Troy grunted.

"Eleven o'clock." Ryan said, answering Troy's wordless question. They both let out a contented sigh. There was plenty of time to spend with each other.

"Nervous?"

"Mmm…" Troy mumbled thoughtfully. "Kinda."

"Well don't be," Ryan said, patting Troy reassuringly on the back. "The Knights have absolutely no chance against you. And if by some miracle they actually do win, I'll make sure you still get that scholarship."

Troy snorted. "You can't do that."

"Are you forgetting who my father is?" Ryan asked. "Trust me, Troy. We've got the entire U of A Board wrapped around our fingers. I could get you that scholarship in a heartbeat."

Troy was sure it wouldn't have to come to that, but he didn't have any doubts that Ryan fully intended to use his father's influence should Troy need it. "Thanks, Ry. I really don't deserve you."

"Au contraire," Ryan said, rolling his 'r' slightly. "Whatever did Sharpay's Shadow do to earn your love?"

"Well…" Tory grinned. "This certainly helps." One of Troy's hands slid down Ryan's front and squeezed his junk. "But body parts aside, you truly are an amazing person. And quite frankly, I don't know a 'Sharpay's Shadow', because in my eyes you outshine her a million times over."

Ryan smiled down at Troy. "Always the romantic. Thank you Troy."

Troy sighed deeply and lifted his head. Pulling himself up so that his head was level with Ryan's, Troy's smiling face inched closer to Ryan's.

"You're welcome."

-o-O-O-O-o-

Striding down the hall with a pile of unwashed bedsheets, a maid was passing Ryan's room when her foot caught on something. She let out a soft shriek and stumbled forward a few steps before straightening herself and relaxing her body. She looked behind her to see what she had tripped on, and gaped in surprise when she saw that it was a person. And not just any person, but the very last person she would expect sitting on the floor leaning against her brother's bedroom door. Setting down her laundry, the maid cautiously approached Sharpay.

"Ms. Evans?"

Sharpay was sitting with her legs brought in close and her head resting on her knees. It lifted abruptly at the sound of someone else's voice. "Huh? Oh, good morning." She said softly, lowering her head again.

"My dear, what are you doing here?" The maid asked good-naturedly.

Sharpay heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I don't know. Just taking a breather I guess."

The maid frowned and bent low so that she was level with Sharpay. Seeing this girl sitting on the floor like some peasant was probably the most bizarre thing she had ever seen, and 'just taking a breather' didn't sound like much of a justification. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Suddenly Sharpay lifted her head again, and a familiar spark could be seen in her eyes. "Of course I'm all right!" she declared loudly. "Who do you think you are? My therapist? Why are you even speaking to me? Don't you have dishes to wash or laundry to do?" Sharpay stood up and towered over the cowering maid. "Of course I'm all right! Go about your business! What I'm feeling is nothing of _your_ concern! I should have you fired! What insolence! What disgrace! _Of course I'm all right!"_

The maid let out a squeak of terror and crawled backwards a few paces. Her hands brushed past her abandoned pile of sheets, and she collected them hurriedly, scrambling to her feet and dashing down the hall. When she was out of sight, Sharpay let out all her breath and groaned.

_Wow Sharpay, you've done it again…_

-o-O-O-O-o-

At quarter after three, Ryan, Troy, and Sharpay had piled into Sharpay's pink convertible to drive to school for the big game. Ryan sat in the shotgun, while Troy took up the backseat. Glancing at his sister, Ryan could detect a certain iciness about Sharpay. She was never really thrilled to drive Ryan and Troy places all the time, but there seemed to be something else beneath the usual annoyed grunts and sighs. Ryan dared not ask Sharpay what was wrong however, lest she bite his head off _literally_. That was one question you _never_ asked Sharpay. Of course she was all right.

They had made it to the school soon enough. In the parking lot, Troy had bumped into Jason and Zeke. He joined them as they headed to the changeroom, but not before pecking Ryan on the cheek.

"Break a leg," Ryan whispered. Troy smiled back as he pulled away from Ryan and joined his two friends.

As the trio of athletes marched inside, Ryan could hear their thunderous laughter echoing in the breezy spring air. Ryan shook his head in amused annoyance and lead his sister inside.

"Ready, sis?"

"Of course I'm ready," Sharpay said, in her usual commanding tone. However, it seemed lacking somehow, as if the effort it took was too much for Sharpay at the moment. She pushed past her brother and stalked inside. Ryan was left standing in the parking lot, a small frown tugging at his forehead.

"Yeah?... I doubt that…" Ryan followed his sister, the urge to ask her what was wrong burning in his throat like a shot of whiskey.

* * *

Hmmmm... 

So, yeah, that's that. thanks again for the kind reviews last chapter. ipodblue, regarding your suggestion about Troy getting hurt in the game, it sounds like a great idea, but at this point, i think it's a bit late in the story to start something like that. and besides, i already have a story that focusses on someone getting hurt, Broken (although i havent updated it in lord knows when... I _will_ update it though... eventually!). but thanks for the compliments.

and um... yeah, that's all for now. not sure when chapter 22 will be up. as of late ive been playing video games more than writing, Super Mario Galaxy in particular (great game FYI, every Wii-owner should have it!) but i still write should i feel inspired enough. I reckon there'll be only a few chapters left before this tale comes to a close. after i finish this story, i might take a short break while i work on some on potential future stores (see my profile for a list of them), and work out what I'm going to do next.

as for now, i'm done for now. hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. see ya!


	20. Game Day Pt 2

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

how's everyone been? good i hope. i was having some computer problems before which was SERIOUSLY hindering my progress on this story, but everything seems to be okay now.

Now, as flattering as it is having so many of you adding this story on your faves/alerts, it would **_REALLY_** be great if you guys left a review. Even just a sentence, ANYTHING. it wont kill you i'm sure. Thanks for all the adds anyways!

Now, concerning this story, i've been feeling rather uninspired as of late. Thankfully, i am planning on ending it soon, although i am planning a spectacular finale (as always). Sadly this chapter is not very long as a result. It's a lot of fluff, and not much else, I hope you'll forgive that.

**

* * *

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**-Chapter Twenty-Two-  
Game Day Pt. 2**

Troy heaved a great sigh as he pulled on his shoes. He was the last one in the changeroom, and the rest of the team was already on the court running drills. As he absently tied his laces, Troy's mind drifted from the musty changeroom and mulled lazily over the tireless hours he had spent preparing for this day. Today was the big day, but somehow, it had lost its importance within the last few months. Troy could barely remember the beginning of the school year, when there was nothing but the championships on his mind. He had grown so much since then. Gabriella taught him the difference between infatuation and true love, and likewise she learned it too (albeit the hard way). He had also come to learn to see people in a different light. Ryan, who was once this freaky theatre-nut who hid in his sister's shadow, was now the very meaning of Troy's existence. Whether it was in detention or onstage, getting to know the real Ryan brought Troy no greater joy. With that came the harsh reality of society's view on Troy and Ryan's "minority". It was hard to face, but with the help of some good friends, things didn't turn out half bad.

Troy smiled. How could he be focused on something so silly as basketball when there were so many things in life of greater significance. There were far wiser teachings than "Get'cha head in the game," that was certain. Of course, it held some importance, as did today's game. But if and when Troy got his scholarship – and his father a nice big trophy – and when Troy moved on to lead the Redhawks to victory as he had the Wildcats, what then? Could Troy say he had fulfilled what he had set out to do? Faced with that question at the start of the school year, Troy probably would have answered yes. But now, Troy knew in his heart that all the fame and money in the world could not bring him the same happiness that Ryan did. Being a basketball star was one thing. Being loved and in love was another.

And so as Troy strode out of the locker room to join the disorderly warm-up, he did so knowing that even if he didn't win today, he would still have a pair of outstretched arms to hold him when the game was over.

And in the end, he would be a winner after all.

-o-O-O-O-o-

A grin was plastered on Ryan's face as he watched Troy bound onto the court, and for a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to forget about his sister sitting beside him. She hadn't said a word since they entered the gym, although Ryan could recognize that steeliness in Sharpay's gaze that meant she was troubled over whatever it was tormenting her mind.

Ryan laughed softly and bounced in his seat as he watched Troy. Ryan was never a big fan of watching sports, but there was something about sitting front row at the centerline that got his blood pumping. Troy was right, he and Sharpay really did have the best seats in the house. Ryan was so close to the action, he almost felt like part of the game. Well, part of the practice anyways. The game proper didn't start for another forty-five minutes. As if to emphasize the fact, Sharpay looked pointedly at her watch. She grumbled loudly, although Ryan didn't care to hear what she had to say.

"Isn't this cool, Sharpay?"

Sharpay yawned in response. Although, she gave Ryan a sideways glance and smirked. He looked like a five-year-old at his first ever sporting event. Ryan always had a childish way of showing his excitement, and Sharpay had to admit… it was cute. She sighed as she looked out toward the court, just in time to see Troy score a lay up. Anyone who made her brother this happy had to be right for him…

Sharpay hid behind her iron mask for the duration of the practice, as Ryan exclaimed something every few minutes. Slowly, the bleachers around them started to fill up, and before long, it was time for the game to start….

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan ran out onto the court, jumping up and down and cheering. East High had won the championship. He pushed past the sweaty masses of athletes as he searched for his boyfriend. He spotted him just as Chad awarded him the game ball once again. He ran up to Troy and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Congrats, Wildcat!" Ryan said happily, kissing Troy on the cheek. "I knew you could do it."

"Thanks Ry," Troy beamed, wrapping his arm around Ryan. Around them, the other Wildcats yelled and cheered like maniacs, and eventually, everyone broke out in the East High victory song, We're All In This Together.

After showering and changing up, Troy met Ryan in the parking lot. They embraced once again as they strolled to Sharpay's car.

"So…" Ryan said, "You know what this means?"

"Sex?" Troy asked hopefully. Ryan let out a laugh.

"Food first," he said, poking Troy's stomach, "My treat. _Then_ sex." They came to a halt at Sharpay's parking spot, only to find it empty. Fluttering slightly in the breeze, a sparkly pink Post-It note was stuck to the ground. Ryan bent over to pick it up.

_Ryan,_

_Zeke and I are going to celebrate, you'll have to find your own way home._

_-S.E._

Ryan blinked as he clutched the note in his hand. Behind him, Troy wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned his head on his shoulder.

"She left?" he asked. Ryan nodded.

"Mm hmm."

Troy blew into Ryan's ear softly, and nipped at his earlobe, making Ryan flinch and giggle. His hands found their way under Ryan's shirt, and they tickled Ryan's stomach with feathery lightness. Ryan squirmed. "Stop it!"

Troy let out a low chuckle into Ryan's ear and sighed. "Okay, okay." With arms still wrapped around Ryan's body, Troy turned him around and led him out of the parking lot. "I know this great Italian place on the next block. Want to stop in there for our celebratory feast?"

"Mmm, pasta…" Ryan said hungrily. "That sounds great." He let Troy lead him away from the school, relishing in the warmth of Troy's embrace. The two walked in peaceful silence, drowning in each other's presence. They didn't care if they were in public, where they could be seen by judgmental passersby. They could stare as long as they wanted, it would make no difference to the two boys. In Troy's world, there was only Ryan, and in Ryan's there was only Troy. The masses of nobodies that surrounded them blurred into the background as the couple parted them. Troy nudged his head against Ryan's cheek.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks…" Troy murmured, releasing a sigh that tickled Ryan's neck. "…for being there for me."

Ryan smiled and kissed Troy's hand. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

* * *

boo, those too suck. let me tell you, v-day wasn't that great surrounded by the above all day long.

ooh ooh ooh, wonder what's eating Sharpay? Nothing! She's at the top of the food chain! hardy har har...

har...

ahem...

anyways, there's actually a reason behind my lack of inspiration for this story. the first reason is the serious lack of reviews as of late. the second reason is my next major story, Hairspray Musical, which i have been working on lots. i'm really excited for it, and i hope you all are too. chck out my profile for details.

and on the topic of my profile, i've completely revamped it again. Now, there's a bunch of useful information on it, like what stories I'm working on, what stories I'm planning for the future, all the fics I'm currently reading, as well as a bunch on notices to keep you guys up to date on my status. and a bunch of random crap like my extensive collection of HSM crap. check it out if you're bored.

i've run out of things to say, so i'll leave it at that. i hope you all enjoyed that chapter, and please review!

Fire and Water has been updated! -hyperventilate- MUST READ NOW! yaaaaaaaaay!

oh, and FYI, Super Mario Galaxy is the shit.


	21. A Weekend of Fun

I'm back

many apologies, i realize the last chapter was so short, it can't even be considered a chapter. thanks for the reviews anyways!

**WARNING:** Implied sex

i _was_ planning on only including 2 sex scenes, but i was feeling a bit indulgent. and I need to get all this smut out of my system, because I'm planning on making Hairspray Musical 100 smut free. so yeah.

there's also a hint of Zekepay fluff thrown in for fun :)

so.. enjoy!

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* * *

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**-Chapter Twenty-Three-  
A Weekend of Fun**

Ryan wasn't exactly sure what Ms. Darbus was ranting about, but a few shouted statements made it past the fog in his mind, namely "TRUE EXPRESSION OF THE ARTIST!" and "OPENING THE SOUL FOR ALL TO SEE!" and "NO CELL PHONES!"

Ryan, Troy, and the rest of the Spring Musical cast were gathered in Ms. Darbus' classroom in a theatre equivalent of a pep rally. However, with the absence of loud band music and cheerleaders, it wasn't a very involved pep rally, and on more than one occasion did Ryan find himself yawning.

The day was Monday, the first in a weeklong production of Ms. Darbus' play. Troy and Ryan had spent most of the previous weekend having sex, as Ryan promised. Two main reasons backed this. The first was celebrating Troy's victory in the basketball game, and the second was to use up what little energy they would still have before the weeklong musical marathon. It was quite a weekend indeed…

-o-O-O-O-o-

After a very satisfying (and expensive) dinner at the Italian restaurant Troy mentioned, Ryan phoned home for a ride, and before long he and Troy were stepping into his personal stretch limo. Troy let out a low whistle.

"Nice wheels," he remarked crouching to step inside after Ryan. His head bumped into Ryan's butt as they stumbled in. "Move your fat butt," Troy said, pinching the blond on the rear. Ryan let out a short yelp and fell onto the leather upholstered seat.

"Careful with that, you brute!" Ryan pouted, rubbing his sore cheek with his hand. Troy only grinned lecherously at his boyfriend and swung the door closed. Placing a hand on either side of the blond's body, Troy climbed onto Ryan's lap, straddling the boy. He bent in close to nip at Ryan's ear again.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "Can I kiss it better?" Ryan let out a noncommittal moan, as Troy's lips closed around his neck under his ear. His hot breath prickled Ryan's skin, and he released a low moan through his kiss that rattled Ryan's vocal cords. Catching himself in mid-moan, Ryan gasped and pushed Troy off of him.

"You _whore!"_ he hissed anxiously, his eyes darting to the open window that revealed the front seat. "You couldn't wait two seconds?" He fumbled in the semi-darkness of the limousine, searching for the control panel.

"You liked it," Troy said, cracking a wide smile. He snaked his arms around Ryan's waist and leaned his body into his back, weighing Ryan down.

"Troy…" came Ryan's strained response, buckling under Troy, "I'm _trying…_ to find… the switch… to the window… so we can get some… _privacy!"_ With his right hand, he finally felt the panel of switches and pulled one. The privacy window sealed itself up, and Ryan felt Troy's weight lift.

"Whooa!" he breathed. "That's _cool!_ Can he see through it?" Troy asked, motioning at the driver, "or is it a one-way window?"

"One-way… and soundproof." Ryan added, with a glint of something in his eyes. Troy took this as a signal to pounce on Ryan, forcing him to the floor and sealing his mouth over Ryan's again. For once in their sex-lives, they could be as loud as they wanted, and they took advantage of that. Ryan cried out in bliss for all the world to hear as Troy pleasured him in ways unimaginable. Ryan was not sure where his shirt had disappeared to so fast, but he dared not complain. Troy's hands roamed over Ryan's dreamily soft skin. They rose and fell into the ridges and hollows of Ryan's ribcage, showing only very lightly through his slender figure. They traveled lower still, grasping the softer flesh of his abdominal region. Tensing and relaxing, Troy's magic fingers massaged Ryan into ecstatic screams of pleasure. Each pleading call of his name brought Troy more tension in the lesser-seen areas of his body, and he lusted for more of his beautiful boyfriend. Unclenching Ryan's stomach, Troy unbuckled Ryan's belt and slipped it off in one swift movement. He had gotten very good at that, from tireless practice, and before long Ryan's designer jeans were bunched up at his ankles. Troy's mouth left Ryan's, and he trailed wet kisses down Ryan's front, pausing at each nipple to draw out another loud moan from his lover. Troy sucked and nipped his way lower down Ryan's body until his chin grazed against the waistband of Ryan's boxers. Letting out a low growl, Troy took the elastic fabric between his teeth and pulled it away from Ryan's skin momentarily. With a satisfying _SNAP_, it pulled itself back, causing Ryan to cry out again. Grinning to himself, Troy gently raked his fingers down Ryan's sides until they snagged on his boxers and pulled them down. With his face pressed close to Ryan's crotch, Troy could feel the heat radiating off of Ryan.

"Hit the lights," Troy rasped urgently, "I need to see you." There was a moment of fumbling around as Ryan tried to find the panel again. Finding it, and knowing it by heart, he cranked the dimmer up so a warm light spilled into the space. "The windows?"

"Troy, this is a limo," Ryan murmured reassuringly. "It's_ built_ for privacy."

Troy nodded, drinking up the mind blowing sight of his naked boyfriend sprawled on the floor of a limo. He looked up at Troy with that angelic look of his, that look that screamed 'fuck me'. The cool of lube shocked Ryan's skin, and as magic fingers did their work, Ryan reached for the speakerphone.

"Jeeves, take the scenic route… the _very_ scenic route."

-o-O-O-O-o-

"Toodles Zeke!" Sharpay squealed as his mother drove him down the drive. Zeke, being the absolute darling that he is, drove Sharpay back to The Evans Estate after the basketball game where he overtook the kitchen. For the better part of the afternoon, Chef Zeke and Sharpay laughed away in the kitchen, as he prepared every desert imaginable. What started off as a taste-testing pastry buffet soon escalated into a full-on food fight. The head chef would later thank Zeke for evicting him, though the maids would have a fit. Sharpay sighed, and as the feelings elation slowly died down, guilt started to fill her up again. How could she be jealous of Ryan when she had such a perfect boyfriend? As if he heard her thinking about him, Ryan's limo pulled into the drive just then. It slowed to a halt, and there was a moment before a door was thrown open and two entangled figures stumbled out. Sharpay's eyes widened when she saw Troy and Ryan heatedly making out. Troy (donning only socks and his polka dot boxers) was pushing Ryan (shirtless and hatless) onto the trunk and attempting to swallow his face whole it looked like. A rigid figure stalked passed Sharpay.

"I am both blind and deaf," The chauffer mumbled to the blonde.

"You're also sworn to secrecy, or it's the sack, _capiche?_" Sharpay threatened. The driver nodded and hurried away.

Ryan didn't know this, but Sharpay was the one who had the soundproof limo. Their parents ripped Ryan off and got him a cheaper model. She shook her head, looking disappointedly at her brother. The brother she had always depended on to be rational, and mature, and not a complete and total _slut_. Sharpay obviously had no idea when she said Troy made her brother happy. She didn't know the half of it, and she really didn't want to. She followed the chauffer into the house and left the two boys to do what boys did best.

"Yeah right it's not all about the sex…" Sharpay grumbled, recalling the earlier conversation in Ryan's room she overheard.

-o-O-O-O-o-

Troy had spent the night at Ryan's once again. They slept well into the morning, as the night had been used up doing… _other activities. _Ryan was the first to wake, and was thus tasked with the impossible job of waking Troy.

"Up!" Ryan said, lifting Troy's arm. It fell with a loud slap against Troy's naked body, which was spackled with the remnants of a hot night under the sheets. A few more attempts yielded no results, and Ryan was reduced to rocking Troy's body back and forth with both arms, yelling his name and other expletives.

Finally, Troy roused, looking up at Ryan through foggy eyes. He mumbled something indistinct and shut his eyes again.

"No Troy!" Ryan shrieked. "Get up!"

"No," Troy mumbled back. "Troy sleepy."

Ryan bubbled with building annoyance, and knew it had to come down to one last, desperate act. He shifted Troy's body to one side and, cracking a wide grin he slapped Troy one on the ass.

"Ah hey!" Troy yelped, "Easy Ryan, that area is still recovering from last night."

"Let's call that payback for yesterday," Ryan said smugly, pulling Troy up. He winced as he put his weight on his bottom.

"Aghhh…" Troy groaned, "Ugh, Ryan. You are an absolute animal in bed. I wont be walking straight for a week."

"You'd better," Ryan said, standing up and stretching. "The spring play starts tomorrow." Troy was silent as he watched Ryan's wonderful body stretch, watching all the muscles in his back tense up. Ryan noticed Troy staring in the reflection of a full length mirror, and he prolonged the act. His smile melted and his body relaxed when something else under the sheets started rousing. Something around Troy's pelvis.

"Oh god Troy… you never quit," Ryan complained, making his way to the bathroom. Troy followed behind wrapping himself around his boyfriend.

"In the shower?" Troy asked hopefully, grinding his crotch into Ryan's backside.

Ryan rolled his eyes and flipped the bathroom light on. "Fine… in the shower…"

-o-O-O-O-o-

Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his own ass sore from a complete ravaging. He tuned out Ms. Darbus' endless monologue and turned his gaze to Troy. Troy noticed the look and smiled at Ryan. His lips formed a silent word:

"Backstage?"

To which Ryan replied with an aggravated growl and a curt shake of his head. There would be no more sex for one week straight he told himself. They had a show to put on, and the theatre was serious business.

"A serious business indeed! I expect all you young actors to take this opportunity to appreciate the hard work that goes into making a production like this! And while we're all here, shall we explore the…"

Backstage it was. Ryan really needed something to wake him up.

* * *

heh heh...

well, you know what this means now? Yes, it's the final stretch, the last mile, the countdown to the very last chapter!

i had many goals for this story length-wise, and i surpassed them all. at first, i was shooting for 18 chapters, which woudl make it 1.5x longer than Sing With Me. Then, when i realized that wasn't going to happen, i changed that goal to 24 chapters, to make it twice as long.

well, never fear, this story isn't ending next chapter, so we'll just have to see when it does... maybe if i wrote my chapters a bit longer, i'd have fewer of them.. which brings me to an important point. what's a good chapter length to you guys? do you like really long chapters that span over many events, or short ones, or medium ones, or or... well you get it. personally i like them long, which confuses me even more, because you'd think that'd make me want to write longer chapters...

anyways, im babbling again. if y'all reviewed and answered the above quesiton, that'd be absolutely fabulous.

until next chapter!


	22. Opening Night

bonjour!

i think I'm finally back in my writing groove, yay! expect the next updates to be up quicker than usual!

i feel like the quality of my writing is slipping again. I dunno, have you guys noticed anything? have the last few chapters seemed a bit, i dunno... bad?

anyways, we're taking a break from the smut AND the fluff in this chapter. its actually kinda sad. hope you enjoy.

**

* * *

-Chapter Twenty-Four-  
****Opening Night**

"MAH!"

"MAH!"

Troy shook his head as we watched the Evans twins sit in Sharpay's dressing room doing that ridiculous warm-up of theirs. Ryan and Sharpay were incredible actors, that much was certain, but they certainly had an odd way of preparing for their performances. How it helped them was beyond Troy, and he could only watch in amused bewilderment as the two made random sounds.

"Eeeh!"

"Ooow!"

"Eeeeh!"

"Oooow!"

As Ryan mumbled something about 'energy', Troy snickered to himself and left the dressing room. After what seemed like hours, Ms. Darbus' 'inspirational speech' ended, and the cast was allowed to get changed into their costumes. As Troy made his way back to his changeroom, cast members rushed past him through the narrow corridors, frantically searching for missing props or stray costume pieces. Troy had to admit, all the hustle and bustle backstage certainly got his blood pumping. He could feel the anticipation growing inside of him as he thought of all the people coming to see them tonight. Months of hard work was put into this play, and it was all about to pay off. Feeling his heart racing in his chest, Troy took a few deep breaths and a calming walk around the stage. He couldn't get caught up in the moment. He had to keep a cool head to make sure he didn't flub his performance. He needed something relaxing to do to keep his nerves down. It came to him and, after making sure no one was watching, Troy closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Eeeeeh…"

-o-O-O-O-o-

Gabriella stepped out onto the empty, curtained stage. She was already dressed in her costume. After all, people in the chorus line didn't get fancy outfits, they were meant to blend into the background. Her feet brought her to centre stage, and she stood there staring at the velvet red curtain. So much had happened on this very stage. There were the auditions for her first school play with Troy. There were the callbacks, with _Troy_. And of course there was the play itself… _with Troy._ Her head turned to her right. Troy had stood there that day nearly a year ago, wearing his basketball jacket and the biggest smile on his face. She could remember the words that he sang through it, the words he sang to her. She could remember taking his hand singing back to him. She could remember Kelsi on the piano, stage right. She could remember the crowd on their feet, clapping along. She could remember the shocked looks on Ryan and Sharpay's faces. She could remember everything… and before she knew it, she was on her knees bawling her eyes out.

How could Troy do this to her? Had last year meant nothing to him? What happened to New Year's Eve? What happened to "What I've Been Looking For" and "Breaking Free"? What happened to acting like kindergarteners on the rooftop garden? What happened to _Troy?_ The Troy she fell in love with did not do things like cheat on her for another _boy_. Suddenly, the voice of Taylor echoed in the recesses of her mind

_"Gabriella, you had to notice that you and Troy were drifting apart," _she could hear Taylor say,_ "Things were just getting too complicated for him."_

What was that supposed to mean? Had Gabriella changed too? Maybe she had grown a bit clingy… but that's only because she loved Troy so much! She could not accept that this was her fault, it just couldn't be!

"Hey."

Gabriella gasped, standing and wheeling around. Her shocked gaze fell upon Troy's, as he stepped out of the darkness of backstage. Caught completely off guard, Gabriella forgot to be mean to Troy like she always was. "Hey…"

Troy walked closer to Gabriella until only a few feet separated them. He took a good minute or so before he said anything. "Ready for the show?"

Still regarding Troy through wide eyes, Gabriella nodded slowly. She probably looked terrible right now, and she was almost certain her mascara was running. _Oh go ahead, make fun of me then…_ she thought ruefully.

But Troy didn't. He kept his face straight, a solemn look reflected in his eyes. He wasn't here to make fun of Gabriella, or make her already miserable life worse. He was here… just to talk. Realizing this, Gabriella swallowed and opened her mouth.

"Are you… nervous?" she asked. What else was she supposed to say?

"Oh, y'know, who doesn't get a little stage fright before opening night?" Troy said, trying to keep his voice sounding friendly. The last thing he needed was Gabriella upset before the show, although judging by the sad shape of her makeup, it was already too late. "You?"

"Well, it's not all that nerve-wracking when you're not in the spotlight… or any lights…" Gabriella tried to laugh, but it came out as an awkward sob. Troy smiled, but it wasn't like the ones she was used to. It was a pity smile. Wonderful.

Inwardly, Troy sighed deeply. He was _trying_ to be nice to Gabriella, and she was just standing there like an idiot. Ever since he had seen her at the Scholastic Decathlon, Troy had been doing a lot of thinking. Okay, maybe Gabriella was a total bitch sometimes, and maybe she had a weird way of showing she cared, but she's only human. Since asking Ryan out, Gabriella had become this worthless outlet for Troy's anger and hatred, and seeing her that day, genuinely happy for the first time in ages, it was a big wake-up call. She was still just a girl, a girl who could feel happy, and feel sad. Troy actually felt guilty now, for being – as Gabriella pointed out – a thickheaded boy. At the very least, he owed Gabriella a proper explanation.

Gabriella was the one to open the can of worms. "Why, Troy?"

"I… I don't know, Gabriella," Troy admitted quietly, averting his gaze, "I was just…"

"A stupid boy?"

"Yeah…" Troy shifted on his feet and tried to meet Gabriella's eyes again. When he did, he could see the tears she was holding back.

"So, what was it, Troy?" Gabriella asked, walking closer to Troy. "I need to know what I did."

Troy took his hand and placed it gently on Gabriella's forearm. "I… don't know," Troy said for the second time. "I just didn't feel it anymore."

"But what about everything we did?" Gabriella asked. "What about the winter musical? What about our trips to the garden? What about acting like kindergarteners?"

"That was then," Troy said and Gabriella flinched, "And don't get me wrong, those were good times but…"

"But?" Gabriella croaked.

"It… it wasn't you anymore…"

It came down like an anvil on Gabriella's heart. Her lungs collapsed and the floodgates opened. Through the ocean of tears swimming around her eyes, she saw Troy's face, looking concerned and almost hurt.

_Please don't cry,_ Troy begged. In that moment, Troy wanted to hold Gabriella. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her it was going to be okay; to stroke her soft hair and kiss her worries away, just like he used to. But he couldn't do that. Gabriella slowly starting leaning toward Troy, and he stepped back. His body screamed in defiance, but he just could not do it. Painfully, he walked back away from Gabriella as she fell to her knees again. Letting her go was a million times harder than he thought, and if this was only a fraction of what Gabriella was feeling, then she must have been seriously hurting. Troy could remember that sob story Taylor had relayed to him that one day. He finally realized it wasn't made up… Gabriella actually meant it.

As Troy backed into the stage right curtains, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Troy gasped at the touch, but he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He let the hand slide down his side, and it wrapped around his waist along with its pair. Troy leaned into Ryan's embrace and breathed in deep. Now more than ever, he felt like the luckiest person alive. He had him, the one he truly loved, and Gabriella had no one. Ryan whispered into Troy's ear.

"She's tough… she'll survive."

It should have sounded cruel, but it didn't. Troy nodded and let Ryan kiss him on the cheek. Gabriella would survive. She wasn't a pushover, she was headstrong and independent. She would move on, eventually. And maybe one day, even find a love like Ryan.

Troy turned to face Ryan, and lost himself in Ryan's sky blue eyes. A lone tear streaked down his face as he brought his lips to Ryan's and kissed him tenderly. Those few minutes stretched into millennia. When Troy finally did break away, he held onto Ryan tightly and sobbed quietly over his shoulder as Ryan patted his pack.

"I love you, Ry."

"I love you too, Troy…"

-o-O-O-O-o-

Grasping Ryan's hand tightly, with that beautiful smile stretched across his face, Troy held up his arm and took his bow. Ryan followed after, and the rest of the line bowed as well. Opening night had been a success! It went without a single hitch. Well, _almost_. At the end of the first act, Gabriella broke the formation and ran off the stage. Troy hoped the audience wasn't able to hear her crying.

The applause from the crowd roared in Troy's ears. He stepped back, as Ryan took a second bow, joining in the ovation. Even as the cast waved out to the audience and left the stage, the clapping continued. As soon as the blackness of backstage engulfed them, Troy and Ryan latched onto each other and kissed each other. There was an annoyed grunt as someone pushed past them. Out of the corner of his eye, Troy caught a glimpse of Sharpay's golden hair. His smile broke the kiss, and Ryan pulled back.

"What?" he asked. Troy shook his head.

"Nothin'," he replied. He ignored Ryan's disbelieving look and took his hand. "You were brilliant tonight."

"Only because I have such a talented partner." Ryan smiled back. He tossed aside his hat, and Troy pulled off his jacket. Why waste time with dressing rooms?

"Your place or mine?" Troy asked.

Ryan smirked. "Mine."

* * *

i was kinda torn when i finished this chapter. part of me just wanted to end the story right now, as this chapter actually provides a lot of closure... but there is still a few things i wanna write before thist story comes to a close. what do you guys think? anyone reading against more chapters? do you think this is enough, or do you want more? I'm leaning toward writing the rest, but... i dunno, i'll let you guys decide. 

to shad0wcatt4, i havent gotten a chance to sit down and read _anything_ lately, but i did read like, a few sentences of your story. while i have Chyan listed as one of my least favourite couples, your story actually has me interested, and i promise to read it when i get the chance! thanks for reading.

and um... thats all for now i guess. so yeah, please review, as i could really use some feedback now. thanks all!

PS: _How_ can you guys like 'Everyday' more than 'Breaking Free'???? its a nice song and all, but i totally prefer Breaking Free. maybe because Everyday just makes me feel jealous whenever i listen to it.. meh..

anyways, 'til next time!


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